Tharoor hits back at critics over Bharat Summit visa denials, invokes Hindu traditions of debate

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday criticised the backlash against his remarks on visa denials to foreign invitees of the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad, invoking Hindu civilisation's traditions of dialogue and debate to defend the need to engage with differing viewpoints.

In a post on X, Tharoor said he was taken aback by the "viciousness" of the comments on his earlier post about visa denials for the two-day summit, organised by the Congress and the Telangana government on November 13 and 14.

"Why is it so hard for these so-called votaries of Hindutva to understand that Hindu civilisation was built on ideas of dialogue and 'samvad'," he wrote.

Tharoor also invoked the tradition of 'purvapaksha', which involves understanding and presenting an opposing argument fully before attempting to refute it. He questioned what kind of political culture could emerge from rejecting the principle of defending another person's right to express an opinion, even when one disagrees with it.

The Congress leader's remarks came amid a political row over allegations that around 115 of the 315 foreign speakers invited to the Bharat Summit were denied visas or had their visas revoked at the last minute. Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng was among those reportedly affected.
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BJP calls Bharat Summit 'anti-Bharat'

The controversy intensified after Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao described the event as an "anti-Bharat Summit" and defended the visa cancellations.

Speaking to ANI, Rao alleged that people who had written articles or spoken against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and India were invited with the "sole intention of creating anarchy".

He also maintained that visa cancellation was the prerogative of any government and accused Congress leaders of hypocrisy, citing their earlier appeal to the US President against granting a visa to Modi.
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Centre defends visa decisions

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has maintained that decisions on granting or denying visas fall within the sovereign authority of individual countries.

Responding to questions about the alleged denial of visas to 115 of the 315 approved speakers, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday: "Visa matters are sovereign functions of any country or any government."

Congress leaders had alleged that the Union Home Ministry was behind the decisions, despite the invitees having received prior political clearance from the MEA.

Meanwhile, BRS spokesperson Revula Sridhar Reddy welcomed the international summit but asked the Congress-led Telangana government to explain how it would translate into investments, employment and other opportunities for the state.

The Bharat Summit 2026 is being held in Hyderabad on November 13 and 14, bringing together around 1,000 delegates from nearly 70 countries. Discussions focus on geopolitics, democracy, climate change, artificial intelligence and progressive politics.