LoP Rahul Gandhi's First Foreign Sojourn To Be US In September

The interactions in the US are based on invitations to the IOC and are likely to be dubbed as ‘meet and greet’ sessions with the former Congress chief, who has assumed a constitutional post for the first time in his two-decades-long political career and is often projected as the shadow Prime Minister.

New Delhi: After becoming the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi’s, first foreign trip will be to the US in September where he will interact with the Indian diaspora, students, business heads and lawmakers and speak his mind on domestic and international issues.

The visit is crucial as it comes months ahead of the US Presidential polls in which Democratic nominee and sitting Vice-President Kamala Harris is pitted against Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump. According to party insiders, the visit is being planned in September first week as Rahul Gandhi will get busy with the elections in three states Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana and UT Jammu and Kashmir from October onwards.

“Yes, we are planning Rahul Gandhi’s US visit in September. This will be his first visit as the Leader of the Opposition. The details are being worked out. He visited the US last year also and later he travelled to Europe. Both the visits were highly successful and presented him as a leader, who was well read and articulate,” AICC secretary in-charge of the Indian Overseas Congress Department Aarathi Krishnan told ETV Bharat.

During the September trip, Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit four or five cities, including Washington, Los Angeles, California, Chicago and Dallas. The interactions in the US are based on invitations to the IOC and are likely to be dubbed as ‘meet and greet’ sessions with the former Congress chief, who has assumed a constitutional post for the first time in his two-decades-long political career and is often projected as the shadow Prime Minister.

Similar invitations have been received from Canada and Europe as well, said party insiders, adding that after a decade of losing power in 2014, Rahul Gandhi led the Congress to a respectable position in the 18th Lok Sabha winning 99 out of 543 seats and taking the role of the Leader of the Opposition.

The coming visit is being arranged by IOC head Sam Pitroda, who was expelled from the party over his allegedly controversial remarks during the Lok Sabha elections, but was recently reinstated as he had clarified to the high command that he was unfairly targeted by the BJP.

"The purpose of his trip is to connect, interact and begin a new conversation with various individuals, institutions and media, including the Indian diaspora that is growing in numbers in the United States and abroad to promote the shared values and vision of the real democracy with a focus on freedom, inclusion, sustainability, justice, peace and opportunities world over,” a senior AICC functionary said.

In May 2023 also Rahul Gandhi had travelled to the US, but as an ordinary citizen after the leader had lost his Lok Sabha membership in March after he was sentenced to a two-year jail term by a Surat court in alleged criminal defamation involving the surname of PM Modi. The case was filed by a BJP leader and was later quashed by the Supreme Court. Then, too, Rahul Gandhi had a wide range of discussions with various social groups. In August 2023, the former Congress chief travelled to Europe where he had met the European Union lawmakers in Brussels and delivered a lecture at a university in Paris.