- Tuesday, March 04, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Amid a backlash over his lecture in the University of Cambridge last week, Rahul Gandhi, one of India’s major opposition leaders, was scheduled to deliver an address in the British parliament on Monday (6), sources said.
The 52-year-old Indian National Congress leader’s visit to the UK has already created a controversy in India with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing him of defaming the country overseas in reaction to his speech at Cambridge, his alma mater.
Gandhi was unfazed by the attack and hit back at the saffron party saying it was prime minister Narendra Modi who hurt the country by discrediting its achievements since Independence in 1947.
It was learnt that the leader, who is on a 10-day visit to the UK, would deliver an address in the Grand Committee Room of the Palace of Westminster on Monday in order to “embrace the cultural, social and business ties that bind both countries as the people are the living bridge”.
On Sunday (5) night, he met members of the Indian diaspora in the UK and was also scheduled to attend private business meetings. He was also set to deliver an address at Chatham House, a London-based think tank.
In his speech at Cambridge, Gandhi said democracy in India was under attack and alleged that several politicians, including himself, were under surveillance.
He had listed five key aspects of the alleged attack on Indian democracy, including capture and control of the media and judiciary, coercion by federal law enforcement agencies, surveillance and intimidation, attacks on minorities, Dalits and tribals, and cracking down on dissent.
