Rahul Gandhi on 6-day US visit to consolidate support for Congress

San Francisco, US: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is on a historic 6-day visit to the United States of America to interact with the Indian diaspora and others, and reiterate Congress Party’s commitment to democratic values in India and across the world.

The visit has been organised by the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC), the global network of the Indian National Congress. During the visit, Gandhi will hold wide-ranging conversations with a cross-section of the Indians settled in the US from different walks of life. The meaningful, fair, and open dialogues will be held on issues concerning democracy, development, freedom, human rights, and the condition of institutions of democracy globally, and in India.

The Congress Party firmly believes that Indian democracy is for a larger global public need. India, with 1.4 billion people, cannot only innovate and improve democracy in India alone but also give a model for democracy in the 21st Century for other nations.

Speaking about Gandhi’s visit, Chairman of IOC, Sam Pitroda said, “I am happy that Rahul Gandhi ji has been able to take time out from his busy schedule to come to the United States and meet with large, successful, and concerned members of the Indian community. They enjoy the fruits of democracy in the US, and are deeply committed to democratic values.”

He added, “We believe we have a moral responsibility to initiate and lead democracy dialogue across the world.”

In the first phase of the visit, Gandhi will spend two days in Silicon Valley with a focus on four main events. The visit begins on May 30, with an interaction at the University of Santa Clara where Mr Gandhi will meet with around 150 members of the faculty, students, local community and political leaders.

The second event is to be held on the evening of May 30 with a meeting with over a thousand members of Silicon Valley citizens to talk about Bharat Jodo Yatra and Gandhi’s vision for the future.

The third event is scheduled for May 31, where Rahul Gandhi will interact with around 100 entrepreneurs and domain experts on Artificial Intelligence, with a focus on AI to take humanity to the next level. The fourth event is later in the afternoon when Rahul will meet faculty, students and intellectuals at Stanford University to discuss democracy with specialists who have done a substantial amount of research on the subject.

In the second phase of the visit, Gandhi will travel from Silicon Valley to Washington DC. He will meet with members of think tanks, like the Hudson Institute. Following that he will address a press conference at the National Press Club and interact with a large section of the global media. It must be noted that in the past, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and PV Narasimha Rao have addressed the media from the National Press Club, which predominantly engages with global leaders.

During his 2-day visit to Washington DC, Rahul Gandhi will also attend a dinner on June 1 with political leaders, the US administration, academicians, and members of the business community. Between June 1-2, Gandhi will have an interaction with India-US Security Council members and prominent media executives. Rahul will hold a meeting with the young staff members of Congressmen and Senators. He will also meet with a large number of NGOs in Washington DC.

In the third and final phase of his US visit, Gandhi will be in New York on June 3, at a High Tea with intellectuals, academicians, and scientists, and also separately, a lunch with prominent cultural personalities from the fields of art, music, theatre, cinema, etc.

On June 4, the IOC organized a mega-event at the Javits Centre, known for important and large events in New York City. This event will be attended by representatives of a variety of different associations and those from the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, among others. People of all faiths and all communities will attend the event. Also attending will be senior Congress Party leaders who will be visiting from India for the event.

On the preparations for this elaborate visit, Pitroda said, “While planning the event, built around an invitation from Stanford University, we had not expected the massive response we received for the events in Silicon Valley, Washington DC, and New York. There is a new upsurge of interest after the spectacular victory of the Congress Party in Karnataka. There is a new hope and Rahul ji represents it.”

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