The MEA defended reported visa denials and revocations for foreign Bharat Summit invitees. Congress questioned the move after Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng's clearance was cancelled.He was responding to a question about reports that the government had denied or revoked visas for more than 100 foreign invitees.
Newdelhi,Nov 14, 2026 00:35 ISTThe Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said visa matters were the sovereign function of any government, amid reports that visas of several foreign speakers were denied or revoked ahead of the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Those affected reportedly included Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, who was scheduled to speak at the summit. The Congress, which organised the event on November 13 and 14, questioned the government's decision.“Visa matters are sovereign functions of any country or any government.
So that is what I have to say,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a regular media briefing, according to PTI.He was responding to a question about reports that the government had denied or revoked visas for more than 100 foreign invitees to the summit while granting clearance to over 300 others. Lyng, an independent journalist from Norway, had briefly drawn media attention during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Oslo in May after asking the Indian side a question about press freedom.In a post on X, Lyng asked Home Minister Amit Shah why her visa, granted by the Indian embassy in Norway, was cancelled minutes before she was due to leave for the airport.
She said she hoped Shah would allow her to visit the world's largest democracy. “I got a visa to India and was supposed to leave this morning to attend the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad. I had been invited as a panelist and speaker on the future of media and press freedom,” she said.“But ‘orders from above’ in the Ministry of Home Affairs have cancelled my visa.
Here is my message for Amit Shah,” she added while asking why the visa had been cancelled.The Congress reacted strongly and asked why the government was afraid of questions.“You may remember — a journalist in Norway asked Modi a question, and Modi was seen running away. Now that same journalist, Helle Lyng, was due to attend the ‘Bharat Summit’ being held in Telangana, but her visa was cancelled before she could even get there,” the party posted on X on Thursday.“Why are Modi and his government so afraid of questions,” it added.The MEA maintained that visa decisions were a sovereign function of the government as questions continued over the reported denial or cancellation of visas for foreign invitees to the Bharat Summit.- Ends