- Svendsen said the Oslo embassy contacted her about 10 minutes before she was due to leave for the airport.
- The summit brought together delegates from around 70 countries.
- Deshpande said Pascal Affi N’Guessan was questioned at Hyderabad airport for six hours.
Indian National Congress MP Shashi Tharoor alleged on November 13 that 115 of 315 speakers cleared by the Ministry of External Affairs were refused entry to India or had their visas cancelled. The restrictions, he said, affected guests invited to the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad. The number is his allegation.
The two-day event runs November 13 and 14 at HITEX. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said visa decisions were a sovereign matter, but did not identify who ordered any cancellations.
Tharoor’s claim concerns speakers, not a publicly issued tally of refused applications. The dispute over “115 Visa Applications” centers on the fate of guests invited to the Hyderabad Event.
Tharoor says he learned of the restrictions after reaching Hyderabad
Tharoor said on X that he learned the figure after arriving in Hyderabad. He had helped summit organizers with the visa process and said the 115 speakers were among 315 cleared by the MEA.
The claim that restrictions followed apparent Home Ministry instructions also came from Tharoor. It remains an allegation. Pushparaj Deshpande, the conference curator, confirmed Tharoor’s account, but no official confirmed the figure of 115.
The reported outcomes were not identical: Tharoor said speakers were either denied entry or had visas cancelled. He questioned the legal basis for the decisions and said they came too late for affected guests to attend the event.
The cases ranged from a travel warning to airport questioning
Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng Svendsen said the Indian embassy in Oslo told her on November 11 that she could not travel, about 10 minutes before she was due to leave for the airport. She said she held an Indian visa and political clearance. Her attribution of the decision to Home Ministry orders has not been independently verified.
Svendsen had been invited to speak about media and press freedom. In May, she questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint media interaction with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Oslo.
Deshpande said former Ivory Coast Prime Minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan was questioned for six hours at Hyderabad airport. N'Guessan’s office said his communications secretary was denied a visa. These cases add detail to the dispute, but do not independently establish the total Tharoor cited.
The Bharat Summit, hosted by the Congress-led Telangana government, brought together delegates from around 70 countries. Its program included discussions on democracy and global affairs.
The MEA defended visa authority without naming a decision-maker
At a media briefing, Jaiswal said: “Visa matters are sovereign functions of any country or any government,” He did not say whether the MEA or another ministry ordered the restrictions.
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy criticized the cancellations and said, “I don't understand why the BJP is worried about diverse oppositional voices. Narendra Modi thinks he is a dictator who can stifle all voices.” BJP leaders, including Union minister G. Kishan Reddy and Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao, criticized the summit and questioned its expenditure.
Congress leader Gurdeep Singh Sappal described the gathering as a Telangana government initiative, rather than a Congress party event. The Editors Guild of India condemned Svendsen’s cancellation and called for the reasons to be disclosed and the decision reversed. Former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal urged tighter visa grants for Norwegian journalists.
The Home Ministry had not publicly responded, the MEA had not identified who ordered cancellations, and no official had confirmed Tharoor’s figure. A Home Ministry response remains the next development to watch.
