After controversial UK trip, Rahul Gandhi in US: Can he stay out of trouble?

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in the United States that the Indian government used "all its strength" to stop his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Addressing the Indian diaspora at an event in San Francisco, Gandhi said Wednesday (31 May): “The government used all its strength to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra … But nothing worked and the impact of the Yatra increased.”“Not only in India, but Bharat Jodo is an idea that is in all your hearts”, the former Congress MP told the gathering.He also hailed the diaspora for showing “Americans what it means to be Indian”. “I thank the Indian diaspora for holding up the Tricolour in America and showing Americans what it means to be an Indian. When Americans praise the contribution of Indians to their growth, it brings us all great pride.”Gandhi is on a six-day trip to the US which will also take him to Washington DC and New York. Let’s take a closer look at what is on his three-city tour agenda.Rahul Gandhi in the USThe Congress leader is slated to meet technology executives from Silicon Valley to discuss artificial intelligence, as per The Quint report.He will also deliver a lecture at California’s Stanford University on ‘The New Global Equilibrium’.Gandhi will also interact with venture capitalists, academics, intellectuals and activists during his San Francisco trip, the report added.On the first two days of June, the 52-year-old former Wayanad MP will be visiting Washington DC.[caption id="attachment_12671452" align="alignnone" width="640"]

Rahul Gandhi will interact with the Indian diaspora during his US trip. PTI[/caption]He will speak at National Press Club on 1 June on the future of Indian democracy, freedom of speech, and sustainable and inclusive economic growth, reported Indian Express.The politician will also meet members of several think tanks. His Washinton DC visit will also see Gandhi holding dialogue with lawmakers at Capitol Hill.As per PTI, the Congress leader is expected to attend a private dinner hosted by Indian-American entrepreneur Frank Islam at his mansion in the Potomac suburb of Washington DC.

In New York, Gandhi will interact with thinkers at Harvard Club on 3 June. The Congress leader is also scheduled to meet a number of famous Indian-Americans including comedian Hasan Minhaj, filmmaker Mira Nair, TV host Padma Lakshmi, actor Aziz Ansari and author Kiran Desai, reported The Quint.On the concluding day of his visit, 4 June, Gandhi will address the NRI community at the Javits Center. He will also hold talks with the Indian Overseas Congress members from across the US, as per Indian Express.ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi to get new passport by Sunday‘Real democracy’Before Gandhi kicked off his US visit, Indian Overseas Congress chairperson Sam Pitroda said that the former MP’s visit is aimed at endorsing the values of “real democracy”."The purpose of his (Gandhi's) 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," Pitroda said in a statement, according to PTI. 

The visit is also being viewed as Congress’ latest diaspora outreach.

Speaking about how the idea for the six-day trip was conceived, Praveen Chakravarty, Congress’ Data Analytics department chairman and Rahul Gandhi's close aide, told The Quint that it started when the Gandhi scion received an invitation from Stanford University last month to deliver a lecture.Chakravarty said while the origin of the visit was an invitation for an “intellectual discussion,” it became “more about diaspora outreach, as well as meeting local think tanks, thinkers and academics – to discuss global affairs.”Notably, Gandhi's trip has come just weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to arrive for a state visit to the White House.The other foreign visit In March, Gandhi’s remarks on his trip to the United Kingdom had sparked huge controversy in India, with the Narendra Modi-led BJP government accusing him of “defaming India on foreign soil”.During the London visit, Gandhi alleged that freedom of speech has been stifled in India since the BJP government came to power in 2014.“The institutional framework that is required for democracy, Parliament, a free press, the judiciary these are all under attack. We are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy,” the Congress leader had told a gathering at Cambridge University.Slamming Gandhi for his 'state of Indian democracy' comments, several BJP ministers had demanded an apology.Days after his UK trip, Gandhi was disqualified as an MP after a Gujarat court convicted and announced a two-year sentence in a defamation case over his alleged Modi surname remark.BJP targets Rahul GandhiThe Congress leader has already attacked the BJP and RSS in San Francisco as well as claimed that “poor and people from minority communities feel helpless today”.Responding to a question from a member of the 'Bay Area Muslim community', Gandhi said, "The way you (Muslims) are feeling attacked, I can guarantee Sikhs, Christians, Dalits, Tribals are feeling the same. What is happening to Muslims in India today happened to Dalits in the 1980s".The BJP hit back at Gandhi, alleging he does not back down from "insulting the country" on his foreign trips.Speaking to the news agency ANI, Union minister Anurag Thakur said, "Rahul Gandhi on his foreign trips wants to insult the Prime Minister but ends up insulting the country. He doesn’t even consider India as a nation and calls it a union of states. He raises questions about India’s progress. What does he want to achieve on his foreign visits? Is mudslinging all that he has left to do?”It remains to be seen how the rest of Gandhi’s US visit pans out and what waves it creates back home.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.