Hyderabad: Congress leaders in Telangana on Thursday, November 12, backed Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, who has alleged that her visa to attend the Bharat Summit, hosted by Congress here on November 13 and 14, was cancelled following orders from the Union Home Ministry.
There has been no response from the government so far to her allegation.
In a social media post, Lyng has alleged she got a visa to India and was supposed to attend the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad before it was cancelled.
Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said the Bharat Summit is an “inclusive meeting” and that the journalist cannot be stopped “just because” she questioned the Prime Minister in an event in the past.
“We don’t have any threat to the nation. She is not a terrorist. We are one of the largest democratic countries. If at all, a country like India will set an example like this, what will happen to this world where the nations are not so democratic or secular,” he told PTI.
Also Read
Norwegian journalist who confronted Modi barred from India despite visa
The government should change its attitude, and if at all anyone intentionally targeted one journalist, it is not acceptable, he said.
Kiran Kumar Reddy, Chairman of the Media and Publicity department of Telangana Congress, claimed that immigration authorities at Hyderabad airport were “grilling” the summit delegates about their past statements on social media platforms.
The Congress, amid an evolving geopolitical situation, is hosting political leaders, policymakers, academics, business representatives and civil society members from 70 countries for deliberations at ‘Bharat Summit’ on the emergence of a new global order and India’s strategic responses to the developments.
The summit will also discuss issues such as cooperative federalism and electoral integrity.
Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid has said the two-day summit in Hyderabad on November 13 and 14 will bring together around 1,000 delegates from across the world.
