Image source, @HelleLyngSvends
The controversy has deepened over allegations of cancellation of visa of Norwegian journalist Hella Ling, who was coming to attend the ongoing 'India Summit 2026' in Hyderabad.
Hela Ling has posted on the social media platform 'X' saying that her visa was canceled to prevent her from attending the summit.
He has also accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah in this matter.
At the same time, the Congress party says that not only Hela Ling, but also about 116 foreign representatives were not allowed.
India's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has also commented on this matter.
Actually, Telangana State Government and Prosperous India Foundation are jointly organizing a conference named 'India Summit - Forging a New World'.
This summit is being held in Hyderabad on the occasion of India's 80th Independence Day celebrations and 137th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru. The conference is for two days i.e. 13th and 14th November.
According to the organizers, more than a thousand representatives from more than 70 countries including India were invited.
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However, now controversy has arisen especially regarding these foreign guests.
Organizers had invited Hela Ling to take part in a panel discussion during the summit. According to him, initially he had got the visa, but it was canceled at the last moment.
He released a video on 'X' on this issue.
What Hella Ling said in her video
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Hela Ling said in her video, "This message is for Amit Shah. Today, for the first time in my life, I had to go to India, the world's largest democracy. I was very excited about it. I had also packed my luggage. I had a visa in my passport. I was completely ready to go."
"But just 10 minutes before I was about to leave for the airport, I got a call from the Indian Embassy in Norway. They told me, 'You can't go to India today.' I was a bit surprised because I had political clearance, a visa and I was being waited for at a conference in Hyderabad, Telangana."
"I was supposed to be there as a speaker on media, press freedom, democracy and the interrelationships of these three. They told me that my visa had been issued, but I would not be allowed to enter India," Hela Ling said.
“And this is where your role comes in, Amit Shah. It seems that this is a matter of your department, the Home Ministry, which has taken a decision to stop me from entering the country.”
"I don't understand why this was done, but this decision seems to be politically motivated," Hela Ling said.
He said, "I think perhaps it has to do with the fact that I used the freedom of the press to ask questions to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Oslo, Norway in May 2026."
"I am also wondering whether this happened because I have criticized Narendra Modi and his regime while conveying my views to the Indian people through articles published in my Norwegian newspaper and through online mediums."
"I'm also wondering if it's because of my views in the article or my interviews?"
Hela Ling had made headlines in May this year, when a joint press briefing was held after bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Storey in Oslo, the capital of Norway.
After the statements of the Prime Ministers of both the countries were over, when they were leaving from there, journalist Hela Ling asked PM Modi, "Prime Minister Modi, why don't you answer the questions of the world's freest press?"
The journalist also raised issues related to press freedom and human rights situation in India. However, PM Modi did not answer these questions and moved ahead.
What did the Foreign Ministry say on the allegations
Image source, ANI
External Affairs Ministry official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told the media, "Visa related matters fall under the sovereign jurisdiction of any country or government. That's all I have to say about it."
Meanwhile, Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister in the UPA government Salman Khurshid and summit organizer of Samruddhi Bharat Foundation Pushparaj Deshpande have also supported Hela Linga's allegations.
On the hella gender controversy, Salman Khurshid told the BBC, "I really can't imagine who is canceling these visas. Maybe God must have done it.."
He said, "When so many people from every corner of the world want to come here, why are they being deliberately stopped? Some people are being stopped, some are being allowed, some are being made to wait and some are being sent back from the airport itself. At the same time, the visas of some people are being canceled at the last moment."
Salman Khurshid said that the government itself should answer this.
"We tried to get visa approval for 116 people. We were told to get approval for each invitee and we sent the entire list. Some were approved and some were refused," he said.
"The government should clarify whose approval was withheld and why."
Pushparaj Deshpande, organizer of the Samruddhi Bharat Foundation, also told the BBC, "Since there are diplomatic issues involved, we cannot say anything about those who have been sent back. However, many people faced serious problems during immigration."
"This even happened to a former head of state of Ivory Coast on immigration. He was harassed."
He said, "All the rules were strictly followed from our side. Many representatives had also got political approval. Despite this, if they are being sent back now, it means that there is a big problem here."
Pushpraj Deshpande said, "You have seen the case of Hela Ling. There are many other such cases also."
"There are many officials in embassies. Many embassies are asking for social media posts to see whether the people concerned have criticized the government."
He says, "I don't know whether the Indian government is directing them to do so or not, but the people present in the embassies... as Salman (Khurshid) sahib also said, someone is checking social media posts and either refusing to accept visa applications or rejecting the applications even after getting political clearance."
"Seeing all these incidents, I cannot understand what is happening."
What is India Summit?
India Summit conference was also organized in Telangana last year. Experts, diplomats, politicians and professors from different fields from India and different countries participate in it.
Many seminars are organized in this summit, in which issues like challenges facing the contemporary world, India's role in it, India's relations with other countries and strengthening democracy are discussed.
Apart from prominent Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, intellectuals and politicians from many countries are also participating in this summit, whose ideological thinking matches with the Congress party.
Regarding the summit, Pushparaj Deshpande said, "Telangana is open not only for investment but also for exchange of ideas. This is why many progressive forces are calling it the 'Political Davos of the Global South'."
He said, "Today the whole world is struggling with many problems. We all are facing the burden of petrol and diesel prices and skyrocketing inflation. When we want to ensure that the common people do not suffer, should we not discuss how to negotiate with West Asia, what issues to talk to Iran about. What kind of relations should be maintained with Russia, America and Venezuela?
Pushparaj Deshpande said, "We have the legacy of the Non-Aligned Movement, the legacy of Nehru. We talk to everyone. Our aim is to understand what problems other countries are facing and what they expect from India."
BJP leaders of Telangana have also reacted regarding this conference.
He has termed it 'anti-India summit'. Salman Khurshid has condemned this allegation of BJP.
On this, Pushpraj Deshpande said, "This is only a platform for exchange of ideas. Here we are not discussing any controversial issue. Whatever is happening here is in the national interest."
He says, "Our only desire is the well-being of the country and the people of India. It is for this purpose that we are gathering from different countries and their representatives to understand and share good practices and ideas."
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
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