Shashi Tharoor alleges 115 speakers denied entry to Congress's Bharat Summit

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor made a serious allegation on Friday, stating that 115 speakers scheduled to participate in the 'Bharat Summit' organised in Hyderabad have been denied entry into India or have had their visas cancelled. According to a Scroll report, Tharoor expressed his displeasure over the incident on social media, stating that this step was apparently taken on the instructions of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. This two-day summit began on Friday, where important topics such as democracy, social and economic justice, climate change, gender equality, and foreign policy are being discussed.

Shashi Tharoor further clarified that a total of 315 speakers had already received official clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs for the summit. Questioning the denial of entry to such a large number of speakers, he said it is unclear under which legal provision the government has taken such a drastic step. He added that since the summit is concluding tomorrow, it is now impossible to reverse this decision. Terming the incident as shameful for democracy, Tharoor said that a proud democracy has become so insecure that it wants to suppress all voices that might be critical.

This controversy began when Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng Svendsen alleged that the Indian Embassy in Oslo stopped her from travelling to India and cancelled her visa. Svendsen stated that she was told not to travel just 10 minutes before she was to leave for the airport. She claimed that she had received both political clearance and a visa, and was scheduled to speak at the summit on the future of media and press freedom. She alleged on social media that her visa was cancelled due to 'orders from above' from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

It is noteworthy that in May, Svendsen sparked a discussion on the role of the press in a democracy when she questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on why he does not take questions from the 'world's freest press'. After this incident, the issue has once again come into the spotlight. However, there has been no official response from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs, or the Indian Embassy regarding this entire matter so far. The organisers of the summit stated that about 200 international delegates are participating in the event and they are focusing on successfully taking the summit forward in line with Rahul Gandhi's vision. According to party office-bearers, political clearance was granted to a total of 316 foreign delegates by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Shashi Tharoor is a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and a Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram. He has served as a diplomat at the United Nations in the past and has also held ministerial positions in the central government. He is known for his writing and oratory skills and has long been working as the Congress party's spokesperson on foreign policy. The Bharat Summit has been organised by the Congress government of Telangana, with the aim of fostering dialogue on various issues at a global level.