Congress questions MEA’s silence on proposed Rubio-Jaishankar meeting

Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. File | Photo credit: PTI

The Congress on Thursday (October 15, 2026) asked why the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was “silent” about the proposed meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai.

It was not surprising that US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor gave more details about Mr Rubio’s upcoming visit to Mumbai, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said.

“It’s also not entirely surprising to hear him say that Mr. Rubio will meet with Indian government officials in Mumbai. But what is quite extraordinary is his statement that ‘we expect Secretary Dr. Jaishankar to join us there along with other individuals,'” Mr. Ramesh said.

“Since when was the announcement of the Indian External Affairs Minister’s meetings in India given to someone other than the official spokesperson of the MEA?” he added.

Congress’s dig at the government followed Mr. Gore’s remarks during an interactive session at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum here, where he said Mr. Rubio would meet with Indian government officials in Mumbai.

“We expect Minister Dr S Jaishankar to be there along with other individuals from Delhi who will travel there to see him in Mumbai,” Mr Gor.

Not surprisingly, the US ambassador to India has just provided more details about US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s upcoming visit to Mumbai. Nor is it entirely surprising to hear him say that Mr. Rubio will meet with Indian government officials in Mumbai. But what is quite extraordinary is his statement that “we expect Minister Dr. Jaishankar to join us along with other individuals”. Since when was the announcement of meetings of the Indian External Affairs Minister in India outsourced to someone other than the official MEA spokesperson? India will learn from the US ambassador, just as it first learned from Mr. Rubio himself on the evening of May 10, 2025, that Operation Sindoor has been stopped. Why is the MEA silent on the External Affairs Minister’s meeting with Mr. Rubio in Mumbai?

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 15, 2026

“India will learn from the US Ambassador, just as it first learned from Mr. Rubio himself on the evening of 10 May 2025, that Operation Sindoor has been stopped. Why is the MEA silent on the meeting of the External Affairs Minister with Mr. Rubio in Mumbai?” said Mr. Ramesh.

Mr. Rubio will first visit Samarkand, Uzbekistan, before traveling to Mumbai and Jamnagar, Gujarat from October 17-22, 2026.

Published – 15 Oct 2026 19:10 IST