Rahul Gandhi in Brussels, to hold meeting with EU MPs & address media

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a six-day trip to Europe arrived at Belgium's Brussels on Thursday morning and will hold interactions with Indian diaspora and European Union MPs.

His EU tour comes at a time when New Delhi is scheduled to hold a much-anticipated G20 Summit in the national capital between September 9 and 10 where the leaders from the US, UK, Australia, China and others will mark their presence.

His tour also coincides with the first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra.

According to party sources, the Congress leader will meet MPs of Europe in Brussels on September 7 around 2:30 p.m. and then hold a meeting with civil society at 7:30 p.m., where he will have dinner with non-Indian residents (NRIs) at around 11.30 p.m.

The sources also said he will also address a presser at 8:30 p.m.

On September 8, Rahul Gandhi will have breakfast with the businessmen in Brussels and then hold a meeting with top industrialists at around 9:30 a.m.

After concluding his visit to Brussels, Rahul Gandhi will arrive in France's Paris on September 8 itself and will hold an interaction programme at Sciences PO University in Paris, and will attend a meeting later. He also has a dinner programme. 

He will have a press conference in Paris on September 8 around 9 p.m. and then hold a meeting with France's MPs and Indian diaspora.

On September 9, Rahul Gandhi will have interactions and meetings with MPs and interaction at Inalco University in Paris.

He will reach the Netherlands on September 10 and visit the famous 400-year-old Leiden University.

On September 11, he will be in Norway and meet the MPs and at the University of Oslo will present his address. He also has an interactive programme with the NRIs there. 

This is Rahul Gandhi's first trip outside India after his membership was reinstated by the Lok Sabha following the Supreme Court's stay on his conviction in a 2019 Modi surname remarks defamation case on August 4. 

Earlier this year, he visited the US for an over six day trip, where he addressed the Indian diaspora, attended a lecture programme at Stanford University and also visited San Francisco, Washington and New York. 

In March this year, he visited the UK and attended several programmes there.

His statements in the US and UK drew sharp responses from the ruling BJP.