Ahead of G20 Summit, Rahul Gandhi leaves for week-long Europe tour

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday left for a week-long Europe tour and will not be here in India during the G20 Leaders Summit. The G20 Leaders Summit will be held from September 9-10 in Delhi. Gandhi is likely to return by September 11, a day after the G20 summit concludes. 

During his Europe trip, Gandhi is expected to hold meetings with European Union (EU) lawyers, students and the Indian diaspora, PTI sources said.

Gandhi, who was reinstated as the Lok Sabha MP last month, is scheduled to meet a group of EU lawyers in Brussels on September 7 and also hold a similar meeting in The Hague. 

According to the sources, the former Congress president will address students at a university in Paris on September 8.

He is also slated to participate in a meeting of the Labour Union of France in Paris on September 9. Thereafter, he will visit Norway, where he will address a diaspora event in Oslo on September 10, they said.

On September 11, Gandhi will be in Norway, and meet the MPs. He is scheduled to go to the University of Oslo to deliver a speech.  On September 13, he will be back in India.

Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP on March 23 after a Gujarat court convicted him in a defamation case.

Last week, Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi after fresh allegations were levelled against Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

During a press conference last week, Gandhi highlighted reports by UK-based Financial Times and The Guardian, that claimed that the Adani family secretly invested in their own shares. He said two prominent global financial newspapers have raised a very important question. "These are not random newspapers, they affect investment in India, they affect the perception of our country in the rest of the world."

Gandhi said India's reputation was at stake ahead of the G20 Summit. He stated, "The current flavour is G20 and it is about India's position in the world. What is very important for a country like India is that there is a level playing field and transparency in our economic environment and businesses that operate here. Today morning, two global financial newspapers have raised a very important question. These are not any random newspapers. These newspapers affect investment in India and the perception of India in the rest of the world..."

He added: "It is important that the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, clears his name and categorically explains what is going on. At the very least, a JPC should be allowed and a thorough investigation should take place. I don't understand why the PM is not forcing an investigation? Why is he quiet and people who are responsible are put behind bars? This is raising very serious questions on the PM just before G20 leaders come here...It is important that this issue is made clear before they (G20 leaders) arrive."

(With agency inputs)

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