US State Department official on Rahul Gandhi's meeting with Donald Lu

Washington DC [US]: After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacted with a top US official on Monday in Washington, a US State Department spokesperson said that the meeting was "part of our regular diplomatic engagement with our partners."

Rahul Gandhi met with Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of South and Central Asia, US Department of State, ahead of the American diplomat's visit to India and Bangladesh, later this month.

"The US government meets with members of government and opposition parties, as well as civil society representatives and other stakeholders, as part of our regular diplomatic engagement with our partners," the US Department of State spokesperson told ANI.

The spokesperson further added, "We don't have further comment on our private diplomatic communications." Rahul, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, also met with American legislators at Capitol Hill. He met several members of the India Caucus during his visit.

Sharing photographs of the meeting, Rahul Gandhi wrote, "It was a pleasure to meet with a delegation of US lawmakers at the Rayburn House in Washington, DC. We had a meaningful discussion about our shared commitment to building a progressive future and strengthening the Indo-US relations."

However, the details of the discussion or any video of the same were not provided by the Congress Party on any of the social media platforms.

Rahul Gandhi, on a three-day visit to the United States, engaged with the Indian diaspora, students, and US lawmakers. His trip began with meetings at the Rayburn House Office Building, hosted by Congressman Bradley James Sherman. Among the attendees were US Congress members Jonathan Jackson, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Barbara Lee, Shri Thanedar, Jesus G "Chuy" Garcia, Ilhan Omar, Hank Johnson, and Jan Schakowsky.

The Bharatiya Janata Party severely criticised Rahul Gandhi following his meeting with US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in the United States. BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya accused the Congress party of "openly working" against the country. "India's Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi meets Ilhan Omar in the USA, a Pakistan-sponsored anti-India voice, a radical Islamist, and an advocate of independent Kashmir. Even Pakistani leaders would be more circumspect about being seen with such rabid elements. Congress is now openly working against India," Amit Malviya said in a post on X.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also criticised Rahul Gandhi, for meeting Ilhan Omar, who has introduced "anti-India" resolutions and peddled hatred against the Hindu community.

(ANI)