About 113 of the 315 foreign speakers cleared by the External Affairs Ministry for the Congress party's Bharat Summit were refused entry to India or had their visas cancelled. The two-day event begins in Hyderabad, Telangana, on Friday, November 13.
The organisers say the Ministry of Home Affairs retrospectively revoked conference visas after the External Affairs Ministry had granted political clearance. Neither ministry has commented or confirmed the numbers.
Around 202 delegates have reached India for the summit, which is hosted by the Congress-led Telangana government.
Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng Svendsen, who was to speak on a panel about the future of media and press freedom, said her visa was cancelled on Wednesday on "orders from above" in the Home Ministry. She said she held both a visa and political clearance, and called the decision “politically motivated.” Helle Lyng was in the news during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Oslo in May for her question, as PM Modi concluded a joint press statement without taking questions.
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Organisers argue that conference visas do not usually fall under the Home Ministry's remit. They cite a government FAQ for such events, which they say does not explain the withdrawals. According to guidelines cited by summit sources, political clearance is required for foreign visitors discussing South Asia, national security or Kashmir.
The Home Ministry, the External Affairs Ministry and the Indian embassy in Oslo had not responded to the allegations. Congress reacted strongly. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor asked on which provisions of the law the MHA have taken this decision.
"You may remember - a journalist in Norway asked Modi a question, and Modi was seen running away. Now that same journalist, Helle Lyng, was due to attend the 'Bharat Summit' being held in Telangana, but her visa was cancelled before she could even get there. Why are Modi and his government so afraid of questions?" said the party in an X post.
The Editors Guild of India said it was deeply concerned by the last-minute cancellation and could not understand the reason for it. It called the actions “a smack of bureaucratic overreach and do immense harm to India's image”.
