The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday targeted Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his foreign visits, alleging that he undertook multiple “undisclosed” trips abroad and demanding an explanation for his recent visit to Oman.
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Addressing a press conference, BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed Gandhi had made 54 foreign visits over the past 22 years, including six trips that were allegedly not disclosed and had been flagged by the CRPF.
“Rahul Gandhi’s 54 foreign trips in 22 years is estimated to have cost ₹60 crore whereas his declared income was about ₹11 crore,” Patra said.
He said the Congress must clarify details regarding the six alleged undisclosed visits mentioned in a communication sent by the CRPF to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
“In September 2025 the CRPF had to give a note on the undisclosed visits…The CRPF officially put it on record that it’s a serious issue that these trips were undertaken without sticking to the rules and protocols for protectees…” Patra said.
The Congress is yet to comment on this matter.
Referring to photographs circulating on social media showing Gandhi in Oman earlier this month, the BJP leader alleged that the trip had also not been officially declared.
“This Oman visit is the 7th undeclared trip. There is no acknowledgement of the trip, no declaration of the host and no details of the public programmes. The Congress party has not also made a comment on this visit,” Patra said.
The BJP MP further questioned whether permissions required from the Union home ministry had been obtained for the visits, particularly if any of them were undertaken in an official capacity.
“We have asked the Congress four questions: did the visit happen; who hosted the trip, was it an Indian or a foreigner; if it was a foreigner, where is the requisite FCRA (section 6) MHA approval letter and where is the bank statement for forex purchase…where is the bank statement for audit,” he said.
Patra also alleged discrepancies between Gandhi’s declared income and the estimated expenditure on his foreign travel.
“He spent about ₹39 crore on 20 big trips and another ₹20 crore on the remainder. There are also mismatches between the spending and his income. For instance he spent ₹4.5 crore in 2015 for a South East Asia tour which was five times his declared income that year,” he said.
Reading out a list of foreign visits and their estimated expenses, Patra questioned the
“ ₹70 lakh was spent on his UAE visit, again disclosed. In Vietnam he spent ₹8 crore but there was no declaration of the same. From December 30 to January 9, during the mourning period for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he went on an undeclared trip to Italy. In March 2018 he made a surprise visit to his grandmother during Holi. And ₹3.2 crore was spent on his visit to Berkeley,” Patra said.
