WASHINGTON: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met with US House of Representatives member Ilhan Omar, despite the latter having an ill reputation for being an ‘India hater’. Rahul, who arrived in the US for a three-day visit, met members of the US Congress, including Ilhan, in Washington DC.

Congress members with Indian roots such as Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamurthy, Shri Thanedar and others were also present in the group. 41-year-old Ilhan had created a lot of controversy with her anti-India statements mostly about Kashmir.

Ilhan, a Democratic member, has presented a resolution in the House of Representatives showing that religious and human rights violations are taking place in India. She was expelled from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House for her anti-Semitic remarks. India had strongly condemned the visit of Ilhan, a member of parliament from Minnesota, to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in 2022. The Pakistani government sponsored her visit. She met then-Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad. The Biden administration had explained that they had nothing to do with Ilhan's visit and termed it purely personal.

BJP leaders came out against Rahul's meeting with Ilhan. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya responded that Ilhan is an anti-India voice sponsored by Pakistan and alleged that Congress was in cohorts with Anti-India forces.