Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has said that several speakers invited to the second edition of the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad were denied entry into India or had their visas cancelled by “the BJP government” at the Centre. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs stopped people who question Prime Minister Narendra Modi from reaching the country, he claimed.Though he did not say how many people were denied entry, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor earlier in the day claimed that 115 of 315 speakers were not allowed to reach India.In response, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Visa matters are sovereign functions of any country or any government.”Revanth said at a press conference in the evening, “I don’t understand why the BJP is worried about diverse oppositional voices. Narendra Modi thinks he is a dictator who can stifle all voices.”He said the Bharat Summit is being held as a precursor to the Invest Telangana Global Summit, which will be held in December in Hyderabad. “We have created a platform for global discussion,” he said. Former Union minister Salman Khurshid also said at the same press conference, “Discussing important policy dimensions is very important. Eight sessions are being held for the growth and development of Telangana alone… Davos is a centre for global discussion; we want Hyderabad to become such a place.”So far, 1,000 people from around India and 70 other countries are expected to participate in the summit, which will cover subjects ranging from climate change to infrastructure to investment.Earlier, Tharoor questioned the legal basis for the action against the delegates who were denied entry. He stressed that the summit would conclude on Saturday, making it impossible to reverse the decision in time for the affected participants to attend. “What a shame that a proud democracy has become so insecure that it must stifle any voices it fears will be critical,” he wrote.Story continues below this adCongress MP and Telangana Congress media in-charge Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy had also claimed earlier that nearly 30 per cent of the invitees could not travel to India because of visa-related troubles.The BJP has called the event an “anti-India summit”. BJP leader and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said it is meant to bring together forces critical of India, and questioned the Congress leadership’s motives for organising it.Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao asked why crores should be spent on this summit when the state government is facing financial constraints. He accused Reddy of spending public money to sponsor what he described as anti-India forces in order to please Rahul Gandhi.CM Reddy said that Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will attend the summit on Saturday and unveil the Telangana gig and platform workers policy. “He will also address the gathering here. What is wrong in that?” the CM asked.Story continues below this adOn Thursday, Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng — among the invited speakers at the event and scheduled to speak on November 14 — had claimed that she was denied entry into India despite having a visa.In a post on X, Lyng alleged that despite having received an Indian visa and political clearance for her visit, she was informed by the Indian Embassy in Norway that she would not be allowed to travel to India. She attributed the alleged decision to “orders from above” in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).“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 panellist and speaker on the future of media and press freedom. But «orders from above» in the Ministry of Home Affairs have cancelled my visa,” Lyng claimed in her post.