Washington DC, September 12:
The conversation between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and a senior US official on Monday in Washington was described by a US State Department spokesperson as "part of our regular diplomatic engagement with our partners."

Prior to Donald Lu's upcoming visits to Bangladesh and India later this month, Rahul Gandhi met with him. Lu is the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asia at the US Department of State.

"The US government meets with members of government and opposition parties, as well as civil society representatives and other stakeholders, as part of our regular diplomatic engagement with our partners," the spokeswoman for the US Department of State informed ANI.

The spokeswoman went on to say, "We don't have further comment on our private diplomatic communications."

On Capitol Hill, Rahul—who is also the Lok Sabha opposition leader—met with lawmakers from the United States. While there, he had meetings with various members of the India Caucus.

"It was a pleasure to meet with a delegation of US lawmakers at the Rayburn House in Washington, DC," Rahul Gandhi wrote with photos from the meeting. We had a fruitful conversation regarding our mutual desire to deepen Indo-US relations and create a better future.

Nevertheless, the Congress Party did not make the specifics of the conversation or any footage of it available on any of the social media sites.

During his three days in the US, Rahul Gandhi spoke with members of the Indian diaspora, students, and lawmakers.

First stop on his journey: Congressman Bradley James Sherman's Rayburn House Office Building. Jonathan Jackson, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Barbara Lee, Shri Thanedar, Ilhan Omar, Hank Johnson, and Jan Schakowsky were among the US Congress members that were present. So was Jesus G. "Chuy" Garcia.

After Rahul Gandhi met with US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in Washington, DC, the Bharatiya Janata Party harshly criticized him.

Amit Malviya, chairman of the BJP's information technology cell, claimed that the Congress party was "openly working" against India.

In the United States, India's opposition leader Rahul Gandhi meets with radical Islamist and proponent of independent Kashmir Ilhan Omar, who is backed by Pakistan and speaks out against India. Not even Pakistani leaders would dare be seen with such fanatics. According to Amit Malviya's post on X, Congress is now actively working against India.

Rahul Gandhi was criticized by BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla for meeting with Ilhan Omar, who has promoted anti-Hindu sentiment and introduced "anti-India" motions.

"Rahul Gandhi meets and chats with anti-India Ilhan Omar after spitting hatred against Sikhs and running India down on foreign soil — Ilhan did two things: 1) she pushed resolutions against India in the US Congress, and 2) she opposed the repeal of Article 370. 3) She went to PoK on a Pakistan-sponsored tour, which is a violation of India's sovereignty. 4) In order to address "Islamophobia" in India, she interacted with figures like Imran Khan. Five, she has played a key role in spreading anti-Hindu sentiment. Rahul Gandhi's meeting with her was unnecessary. X was where he shared the post.

"Why does he always meet with the most extreme anti-Indians on his international trips? Is virodh alright in the BJP? Meanwhile, Poonawalla chimed in.

US State Department Calls Rahul Gandhi's Meeting with Top Official "Routine Diplomatic Engagement