NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s upcoming Mumbai visit, alleging that officials in the external affairs ministry were “confused” about the developments.“Mr Rubio has summoned his employee to Mumbai. Modi ji, your officials in the external affairs ministry are confused about what’s going on. You might want to explain. Unless, of course, you want me to,” Rahul posted on X.His remarks came a day after Congress questioned the Centre’s silence on Rubio’s visit, particularly after US ambassador to India Sergio Gor said American officials expected external affairs minister S Jaishankar to meet Rubio in Mumbai.
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Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh called the ambassador’s statement “extraordinary” and questioned why the announcement of the external affairs minister’s engagements in India was coming from a US official rather than the ministry of external affairs (MEA).“Why is the MEA silent on the external affairs minister’s tryst with Mr Rubio in Mumbai?” Ramesh asked, adding that India was learning about the developments from the US ambassador.The US state department announced on Tuesday that Rubio would visit India from October 17 to 22 to strengthen energy cooperation. He is scheduled to travel to Mumbai and Jamnagar after visiting Samarkand in Uzbekistan.