Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng has claimed that her Indian visa was cancelled at the last minute, just as she was about to leave for the airport in Norway to attend the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad. The claim, made by Lyng herself in a post on social media, has put the focus on the summit on its opening day.
Lyng was invited to speak at the summit on media, press freedom and democracy. In her post, she said she had received an Indian visa and political clearance for the visit, but was then told by the Indian Embassy in Norway that she would not be allowed to travel to India.
According to her account, the message came moments before she was to leave for the airport. She has described the decision as a last-minute cancellation of a visa that had already been granted.
The Bharat Summit, organised by the Congress and the Telangana government, is scheduled to run from 12 to 14 November in Hyderabad. The summit is being held at HITEX and the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, and is billed as a gathering of progressive leaders from around the world.
What Lyng Has Claimed
Lyng has said the visa and the political clearance for her visit were both in place before the embassy informed her that she could not travel. Her account is, at this stage, her own claim, and no independent confirmation of the cancellation has been published.
A response from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs is awaited. Neither ministry had issued a public statement on the matter at the time of publication.
The summit is described by its organisers as the first major international gathering of progressive leaders after recent elections in Brazil, Hungary and Serbia. Sessions over the three days are expected to cover democracy, media freedom and economic justice.
Why The Claim Matters
The claim has drawn attention because Lyng was an invited speaker, not a casual visitor, and because the subject she was to speak on was press freedom itself. Her post has been widely shared since it appeared on Thursday morning.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to speak at the valedictory session of the summit on 14 November. The summit opens on Thursday, and the visa claim is the first controversy attached to the event.
For now, the episode rests entirely on Lyng's account. Until the ministries respond, the cancellation remains a claim made by the journalist, not an established fact.
