115 of 315 speakers for Congress’ Bharat Summit denied entry into India, claims Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday alleged that 115 of 315 speakers scheduled to attend the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad were refused entry into India or had their visas cancelled “apparently on the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs”.

Tharoor said that the speakers had received clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs to attend the two-day summit, which began on Friday.

The summit has been organised by the Congress-led Telangana government for discussions on democracy, social and economic justice, climate change, gender equality and foreign policy, among other subjects.

“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,” he wrote on social media. “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

Tharoor’s remark came two days after Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng Svendsen alleged that the Indian embassy in Oslo stopped her from travelling to India for the conference and cancelled her visa.

Svendsen said that 10 minutes before she left for the airport, the embassy asked her not to travel.

The journalist said that she had received political clearance, a visa and was supposed to speak on the future of media and press freedom at the Bharat Summit. “But ‘orders from above’ in the Ministry of Home Affairs have cancelled my visa,” she alleged on social media.

In May, Svendsen sparked a debate about the role of the press in a democracy – and refocused attention on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s refusal to address press conferences.

As Modi was leaving the podium after he and his Norwegian counterpart addressed a joint press meet in Oslo on May 18, Svendsen had asked the Indian prime minister why he does not take “some questions from the freest press in the world”. She works at a newspaper called Dagsavisen.

The home ministry, the Ministry of External Affairs and the embassy have not yet commented on Svendsen’s allegations.

The organisers of the Bharat Summit said that about 200 international delegates were attending the event. “We are focused on making sure the summit goes ahead smoothly in keeping with Rahul Gandhi’s vision,” they told Scroll.

Political clearance had been obtained from the foreign ministry for 316 foreign delegates, said party functionaries familiar with the development.

Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Sara Varghese.

Watch: Helle Lyng on visa revocation: ‘I was told it is on orders from above’