Opposition's voice being stifled, says Gehlot as no plan for Putin-Rahul Gandhi meeting

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday accused the Centre of systematically suppressing the Opposition, saying that preventing foreign leaders from meeting Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is dangerous for the country's democratic fabric.

In a post on X, Gehlot said the role of the Opposition is integral to a healthy democracy and that the term Opposition carries its own constitutional significance.

He said that from the time of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh, visiting foreign leaders were always free to meet representatives of both the government and the Opposition.

Recalling a precedent, Gehlot said that when former US President Barack Obama visited India in 2010, the then Leader of Opposition, the late Sushma Swaraj, met him in keeping with democratic convention.

''It is unfortunate that the Modi government is not respecting this long-standing tradition. Weakening the Opposition weakens democracy itself,'' Gehlot said.

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