Heads of Missions (HoMs) of the 27 European Union (EU) Member States met Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Thursday, discussing the "thriving EU-India strategic partnership" and the current geopolitical situation.
Chairman of Congress party's foreign affairs department, also attended the luncheon hosted by the EU delegation at Shanti Niketan. "As part of our engagement with Indian political parties, EU HoMs had lunch with Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress foreign affairs Head Salman Khurshid.
We discussed the thriving EU-India strategic partnership, evolving Indian and global geopolitical dynamics," European Union's Ambassador to India Herve Delphin posted on X after the meeting. Last week, Delphin had highlighted that India and the EU and its Member States are deepening their ties like "never before" and are on the same page of history as the two world’s largest democracies representing a quarter of world’s demography and a quarter of world’s economy.
"The presence of the EU Presidents as Chief Guests at Republic’s Day back-to-back with the EU-India Summit was a moment where symbolism, substance and strategic significance came together, resulting in momentous outcomes," the EU Ambassador stated during Europe's Day reception on May 8.
"We have placed our relationship to a totally new level, in qualitative and strategic terms. EU aur Bharat ki dosti asimit, mahatvakankshi aur pragatisheel hai. The EU India partnership is: limitless, ambitious and progressive!" he had added.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday trained guns at Rahul Gandhi over his multiple foreign visits undertaken over the past two decades, questioning the money trail and also the “source of funding” behind his “luxurious globe-trotting”.
In a pointed attack, BJP MP Sambit Patra said the declared income of Congress MP was Rs 11 crore, but he has spent about Rs 60 crore on 54 foreign trips across continents, including Europe and the Middle East. He questioned where the LoP was drawing funds for such trips.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Sambit Patra demanded that the LoP come clean on the entity or individual who was funding his visits to foreign shores over these years. “We have the details of Rahul Gandhi’s declared income from 2013-14 to 2022-23.
In the past ten years, his income was Rs 11 crore. But the expense on his foreign tours in the past 22 years has been Rs 60 crore,” Patra said. Patra also demanded that the Congress leader reveal the source of funding for his trips to foreign shores.
“Who paid for Rahul’s trips -- Foreign entities? Then, where are FCRA approvals? Personal funds? Then, where are the tax and forex disclosures? Someone else, then the questions become even bigger,” the BJP leader asked. Stating that “the travel trail is public, the money trail is missing”, the BJP MP also raised concerns over the ‘opaqueness and secrecy’ around Rahul’s foreign trips, given his key role and position in Parliament.
“There is a transparency issue and a matter of national security. Where is India’s Leader of Opposition travelling? Who is he meeting? Who is funding these trips?” Patra said. He also stated that Rahul Gandhi’s foreign trips, particularly undertaken during 2024-25, came under increased scrutiny after the CRPF raised a flag over being 'uninformed' about these.
In a specific reference to Rahul Gandhi’s recent Oman tour in May 2026, Patra said there was no acknowledgement of the trip, no declaration of the host and no details of the public programmes. The Congress party also didn’t comment on this visit.