New Delhi [India], May 15 : Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday raised concern over Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's "unannounced and announced" foreign visits, reminding the Congress MP of the parliamentary rules, which require MPs to inform the Secretariat of the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha at least three weeks before their foreign travel.
Speaking with the reporters, Rijiju clarified that his request is to have information about Rahul Gandhi's visit and not to curtail his freedom to visit foreign countries.
"The matter of Rahul Gandhi's unannounced and announced foreign visits has raised a serious question. Every MP is required to inform the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat 3 weeks in advance of their foreign visit. It is not a permission but information. MPs can travel abroad, but information has to be given," he said.
Rijiju flagged that the foreign hospitality, the expenditure to be borne by the agencies/organisations for inviting Rahul Gandhi, comes under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, about which the information needs to be shared with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
He said that Rahul Gandhi has made 54 reported foreign trips since 2004, after becoming the MP for the first time.
"If a particular MP is to accept the foreign hospitality, the expenditure to be borne by the agencies/organisations whoever invites the MP will have to come under the FCRA. Rahul Gandhi has been an MP since 2004, and there are reports of 54 foreign trips. It is not limited to 54 trips, but how many days he has stayed outside India, and what are the expenditures he has incurred...My request to Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party is to follow the rules and provide the requisite information to the authorities. He has to inform the Lok Sabha Speaker 3 weeks before the proposed foreign visit, and if he has to accept the foreign hospitality, then he has to inform the MHA under FCRA," he said.
Rijiju further requested Rahul Gandhi to inform about the visits and the expenditures incurred in his name spent by the agencies or organisations outside India, emphasising that the law remains equal for everyone, and this request is not to target the Lok Sabha LoP.
"I request Rahul Gandhi to specify why he has visited so much. It is his freedom to visit, but he must inform who the people are who have invited him and what expenditures incurred in his name are being spent by the agencies/organisations outside India. I feel that every Indian has to abide by the laws of the country, especially the MPs...If anything happens, if some actions are initiated, Govt should not be blamed for targeting Rahul Gandhi or a particular person. Law is for everyone," he said.
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