Indian Minister Accuses Rahul Gandhi of Not Following Protocol for Foreign Trips

A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party questioned the “undeclared” and “secret” foreign trips of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the senior Congress leader of not following the protocol mandated by his status as an MP. Rijiju alleged that Rahul Gandhi has not been sharing details regarding his trips ever since he became an MP, repeatedly leaving his security apparatus in a tizzy. Reacting to similar allegations by the BJP a day earlier, the Congress countered the accusations against its senior leader by terming them a tactic to deviate attention from “setback after setback” to the foreign policy of the BJP-led government. “A serious question has been raised against Rahul Gandhi … if any MP is going on a foreign trip, the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha , as the case may be, are supposed to be intimated three weeks in advance; the Ministry of External Affairs and Home Affairs also have to be informed,” Rijiju said. “In case of the MHA, especially in regard to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, if foreign-sponsored hospitality is to be accepted, information has to be provided. Every MP can travel abroad … Rahul Gandhi’s biggest problem is that he never gives information whenever he travels abroad,” he alleged. Details of where he stays and whom he meets, Rijiju added, were also not shared by the LoP, which had also become a matter of concern for agencies mandated to provide him security. “If something unfortunate occurs, questions will be raised against the government; Rahul Gandhi ji is also Leader of Opposition, if something happens with him, the government will have to answer,” Rijiju said. “Rahul Gandhi ji does not share any details with agencies, this too is a serious matter. Especially (in regard to) the 54 times he has gone on foreign trips between 2004 and 2026, there are some instances where there is no information at all; we do not want to get after him … but when taxpayers’ money is involved, questions will certainly be raised,” he added.