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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday hit back at the Congress leader and LoP Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, dismissing his claim that the nation heads are not allowed to meet the Opposition leader. BJP chief spokesperson Anil Baluni termed Gandhi's claim as a "blatant lie". He shared pictures of Gandhi from meetings with these foreign dignitaries to attribute his rebuttal. 

Baluni said Gandhi had met many foreign guests, including the prime ministers of New Zealand and Mauritius, this year.

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In a post on X, Baluni wrote a detailed note, fact-checking Gandhi's claim. "Rahul Gandhi ji, please don't tell such a blatant lie. In just the past year or year and a half, you have met at least five foreign guests/heads of state. These pictures can't be fake, can they, Rahul Gandhi ji," he tweet read.

In His Tweet, The BJP Leader Highlights Gandhi's Meeting:

- Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina: June 10, 2024
- Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim: August 21, 2024
- Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navinchandra Ramgoolam: September 16, 2025
- Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon: March 8, 2025
- LOP also met the PM of Vietnam on August 1, 2024

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"The facts given above clearly show, Rahul Gandhi ji, that you are simply and solely lying. However, whenever you go to foreign soil, you always end up tarnishing the image of India, India's democracy, and India's Constitution. Note: During any visit, MEA organises meetings for the visiting dignitary with government officials and government bodies. Organizing meetings outside the government depends on the visiting delegation. Rahul Gandhi has met many foreign guests before as well," he added.

Govt Tells Visiting Dignitaries Not To Meet LoP: Gandhi

Earlier in the day, Gandhi alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the Leader of the Opposition due to its "insecurity". Gandhi's remarks came hours ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to India.

He said it is a tradition that visiting foreign dignitaries meet the LoP, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs were not following this norm.

"Normally the tradition is that those who come from abroad have a meeting with the LoP. This used to happen during (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji's time, Manmohan Singh ji's time, it has been a tradition but what happens these days is that when foreign dignitaries come and when I go abroad, the government suggests to them to not meet the LoP," Gandhi told reporters in Parliament House complex.

(With PTI inputs)

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