The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday targeted Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his foreign visits, alleging that he had made several “unannounced” trips abroad and demanding an explanation for his recent visit to Oman.
In a press conference, BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed that Gandhi had made 54 foreign visits over the past 22 years, including six trips that were allegedly undisclosed and reported by the CRPF.
“Rahul Gandhi’s 54 foreign trips in 22 years are estimated to have been costly.” $60 Crores while his declared income was about $Rs 11 crore,” Batra said.
He said the Congress should clarify details regarding the six alleged unannounced visits mentioned in a letter sent by the CRPF to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
“In September 2025, the CRPF had to submit a memorandum on unannounced visits… and the CRPF officially recorded that making such trips without adhering to the rules and protocols of protected persons… is a serious problem,” Batra said.
Congress has not yet commented on this issue.
Referring to pictures circulating on social media showing Gandhi in Oman earlier this month, the BJP leader claimed that the trip was not officially announced either.
Batra said, “This visit to the Sultanate of Oman is the seventh unannounced trip. There is no acknowledgment of the trip, no announcement of the host, and no details of the public programs. The Congress Party also did not comment on this visit.”
The BJP MP also asked whether the requisite permissions had been obtained from the Union Home Ministry for the visits, especially if any of them were done in an official capacity.
“We asked Congress four questions: Did the visit take place; Who hosted the trip, was he Indian or foreign; If foreign, where is the required FKRA (Section 6) MHA letter and where is the bank statement for foreign currency purchases… Where is the bank statement for auditing,” he said.
Patra also alleged discrepancies between Gandhi’s declared income and estimated expenses on his travel abroad.
“He spent approx $39 crore on 20 major and other flights $20 crores on the rest. There is also a mismatch between expenditure and income. For example spent $“Rs 4.5 crore in 2015 for a tour of Southeast Asia which is five times his declared income that year,” he said.
After reading the list of foreign visits and their estimated expenses, Batra questioned the source of funding for the trips.
” $It was once again revealed that he spent 70 thousand on his visit to the Emirates. He spent in Vietnam $8 crores but there was no announcement about it. From December 30 to January 9, during the period of mourning for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he went on an unannounced trip to Italy. In March 2018, he paid a surprise visit to his grandmother during Holi. and $“Rs 3.2 crore was spent on his visit to Berkeley,” Batra said.
