New Delhi: Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor Friday hit out at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for “apparently” cancelling the visas for 115 foreign delegates, who were earlier granted clearance to attend the opposition party’s Bharat Summit, being held in Hyderabad.
“A disappointing footnote to the #BharatSummit proceedings: when I got to Hyderabad, I learned that 115 of the 315 speakers whom the External Affairs Ministry had cleared for the event ended up being refused entry to India or having their visas cancelled, apparently on the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Tharoor wrote on the micro-blogging platform X.
He added: “It is completely unclear under what provision of law the government has taken such a drastic step, but it is obviously impossible to reverse it since the conference concludes tomorrow.
“What a shame that a proud democracy has become so insecure that it must stifle any voices it fears will be critical!”
A disappointing footnote to the #BharatSummit proceedings: when I got to Hyderabad, I learned that 115 of the 315 speakers whom the External Affairs Ministry had cleared for the event ended up being refused entry to India or having their visas cancelled, apparently on the… https://t.co/ODPDFMdY6k
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 13, 2026
In another post Saturday, Tharoor wrote: “I’m a bit taken aback by the viciousness of the comments on my tweet about the visa denials for the #BharatSummit. 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”, and that our tradition of “purvapaksha” requires us to be able to fully understand and repeat the arguments of the other side in order to refute them effectively? What kind of political culture can be built on a rejection of the fundamental principle that “I disagree with what you say, but I will always defend your right to say it”?”
I’m a bit taken aback by the viciousness of the comments on my tweet about the visa denials for the #BharatSummit. 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”, and that our tradition…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 14, 2026
Amongst delegates who had their visas cancelled at the last minute was Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, who had raised questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when the latter visited Oslo earlier this year.
“I got a visa to India and was supposed to leave this morning to attend the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad. I had been invited as a panelist and speaker on the future of media and press freedom,” Lyng wrote X Wednesday.
I got a visa to India and was supposed to leave this morning to attend the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad. I had been invited as a panelist and speaker on the future of media and press freedom.
But «orders from above» in the Ministry of Home Affairs have cancelled my visa.
Here… pic.twitter.com/ihAuZdUCmc
— Helle Lyng (@HelleLyngSvends) November 11, 2026
Questioned about the cancellation of visas at the last moment, Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said at the bi-weekly press briefing Friday that “visa matters are sovereign functions of any country or any government”.
Jaiswal did not explain why the visas of a number of delegates were cancelled, despite receiving clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs earlier. The second iteration of the Bharat Summit is being held in Hyderabad on 13 and 14 November. The Indian National Congress-led effort expected to see at least 1,000 delegates from around 70 countries.
The delegates were primarily from political parties representing the progressive movements globally, as well as academics and journalists. The focus of the summit is to eventually craft a foreign policy position of the opposition party, as well as linking up with progressive political movements across the globe to share experiences and best practices.
The cancellation of Lyng’s visa has been criticised by both the Editors Guild of India, as well as the Association of Norwegian Editors and the Norwegian Press Association. The Editors Guild of India in its statement Thursday noted with “deep concern” the cancellation of Lyng’s visa.
“The EGi is at a loss to understand the reason for this cancellation. Ms Lyng is a legitimate and respected international journalist, whose only ‘crime’ appears to have been posing a question to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a press briefing in Oslo in May, 2026,” said the EGi in its statement.
The guild added: “Such actions smack of bureaucratic overreach and do immense harm to India’s image as the world’s largest democracy. Freedom of speech is one of the first principles that any functioning democracy abides by”.
Statement on Cancellation of Visa Given to Norwegian Journalist Helle Lyng pic.twitter.com/iGXZaOjQ6t
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) November 12, 2026
The open letter issued by the two Norwegian press bodies Friday, underlined that the cancellation of visas for foreign journalists raises concerns on what it means for “foreign journalists to cover India and to question how the country is governed in the future”.
“We believe it is legitimate to ask whether the revocation of her journalist visa is connected to the critical questions she put to India’s Prime Minister. Journalists must be free to question those who govern. This is part of their role in society and a basic democratic right. Denying a journalist entry for asking critical questions is a serious infringement of press freedom,” the open letter issued by the Association of Norwegian Editors and the Norwegian Press Association said.
It added: “It is deeply concerning if journalists are denied entry to India for doing their job. Such a decision affects more than the individual journalist: it sends a message to the world that asking critical questions can have consequences.”
The Bharat Summit concludes Saturday. No representatives from the Communist Party of China (CPC) were invited, the Congress confirmed earlier in the week, as reported by ThePrint. Amongst the other restrictions in place by the government was that no political parties from India’s neighbouring countries would be invited to attend the summit.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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