Bharat Summit Row: Revanth Reddy Accuses Centre Of Blocking Foreign Speakers

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday accused the Centre of preventing several foreign speakers invited to the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad from attending the event, alleging that their visas had been denied or cancelled. He said every delegate who participated would be treated as a “Telangana Ambassador” and encouraged to promote the state’s investment opportunities abroad.

Addressing a press conference at the Bodhi Pavilion on Friday, Revanth Reddy said the summit was envisioned to bring together international voices from different fields and showcase Telangana’s infrastructure, industrial policies and skilled workforce. Around 1,000 participants from India and 70 other countries were expected to attend, with discussions covering climate change, infrastructure, investment and other policy issues.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had earlier claimed that 115 of the 315 invited speakers were unable to reach India. Congress leaders also alleged that nearly 30 percent of invitees had faced visa-related difficulties. Revanth Reddy accused the Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs of blocking speakers critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He questioned the Centre’s objections to the participation of diverse political voices, while alleging that the BJP was uncomfortable with criticism of the Prime Minister.

The controversy drew a response from the Ministry of External Affairs. Its spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said visa matters were the sovereign prerogative of every country and government. The Ministry of Home Affairs had not issued an immediate response.

Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, one of the invited speakers scheduled to participate in a session on media and press freedom, also claimed that she was prevented from travelling to India despite having secured a visa and political clearance. In a post on X, she alleged that her visa had been cancelled on orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The BJP, meanwhile, termed the gathering an “anti-India summit”. Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy questioned the Congress leadership’s intentions, while Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao criticised the expenditure on the event, arguing that the state was facing financial constraints. Revanth Reddy hit back at BJP leaders G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, along with BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, accusing them of spreading misinformation and attempting to undermine the summit.

The chief minister also defended Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s participation, asking why the BJP objected to his addressing an international gathering when the prime minister regularly attended events overseas.

Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to address the concluding session on Saturday and launch Telangana’s legislation for gig and platform workers. Revanth Reddy contrasted the state’s initiative with what he described as the Centre’s lack of attention to the concerns of gig workers.

The summit is also being positioned as a precursor to the Invest Telangana Global Summit, scheduled for December 7-9 at Bharat Future City. Revanth Reddy said the government had already held curtain-raiser events in Delhi and planned similar programmes in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. He reiterated the state’s ambition to become a $1 trillion economy by 2034 and a $3 trillion economy by 2047, with international investment playing a central role.

He also accused the BJP and BRS of opposing several state development projects, including the Musi river rejuvenation initiative, metro rail expansion, the Regional Ring Road and the Tummidihatti project.