New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi will travel to the United States from September 8 to 10, marking his first international trip since assuming the role of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Sam Pitroda, the Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, stated on Saturday that Rahul will have multiple meetings in Washington, DC, and Dallas, including one at the University of Texas.
Gandhi's visit comes ahead of the US presidential election, which is scheduled for early November.
Pitroda provided additional information about Gandhi's visit in a video statement. “Since Rahul Gandhi has become the Leader of the Opposition, I as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, with a presence in 32 countries, have been bombarded with requests from Indian diaspora diplomats, academicians, businessmen, leaders, international media and many others for interactions with him,” Pitroda said.
He added that the Congress leader will be in the US from September 8 to 10 for a quick visit. “He will be in Dallas on September 8 and will be in Washington DC on September 9 and 10. In Dallas, we’ll have interactions with University of Texas students, academicians, and community people. We’ll have a very large community gathering, we’ll meet some technocrats and then we’ll have a dinner with the leaders from the Dallas area,” he added.
The head of the Indian Overseas Congress also announced that Rahul Gandhi will visit Washington, DC, where he will meet with think tanks, the National Press Club, and other organisations for similar interactions, the New Indian Express reported.
“There are a lot of events planned with a variety of people because we find that people also have a lot of interest in the states we run with a Congress government. We look forward to a very successful visit and look forward to welcoming Rahul Gandhi to the US,” he said.
Gandhi caused a stir last year during his six-day tour to the US with his comments about Prime Minister Modi, the new Parliament building, and the alleged assaults on India's minority and constitutional values. Speaking to the Indian diaspora in San Francisco, Gandhi claimed that PM Modi is "one such specimen" among others in India who believe they know more than God.
“We have a group of people in India who are absolutely convinced that they know everything. They think they know even more than God. They could sit down with God and have a conversation and explain to him what is going on. And of course, our Prime Minister is one such specimen. I think if you sat Modi ji down next to God, Modi ji would start explaining to God how the universe works and God would get confused about what have I created,” Gandhi had said.