HYDERABAD: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is likely to attend the Bharat Summit 2026 in Hyderabad on November 13 or 14, TPCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud said on Tuesday.
He was addressing a press conference in New Delhi along with chairman of the party’s Foreign Affairs Department Salman Khurshid, CWC member Gurdeep Sappal and IT Minister D Sridhar Babu.
Mahesh Goud disclosed that he had invited Rahul to the summit during a meeting with him earlier in the day and the latter agreed to attend on either of the two dates. Rahul had also participated in the previous edition of the summit held in Hyderabad, he recalled.
Rahul suggested organising a special interaction with gig workers on the sidelines of the summit, the TPCC chief said.
Following the Assembly’s approval, the Telangana Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2026, was passed in June. Rahul is expected to address the gathering and interact with representatives of gig workers.
Bharat Summit aims to bring together progressive political forces: Khurshid
Mahesh Goud said he also discussed the need for adequate political representation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) at the national and state levels and invited Rahul to attend a proposed mega rally in Telangana demanding greater representation for backward communities.
He briefed Rahul on the party’s organisational initiatives in the State and discussed a proposed public meeting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Giving details of the Bharat Summit, Salman Khurshid said the three-day event, scheduled from November 12 to 14 at the HITEX Exhibition Centre, would bring together political leaders, policymakers, academics, business representatives and civil society members from around 70 countries.
Representatives from nearly 100 countries had been invited, he said, adding that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also been invited.
The summit will provide a platform to deliberate on democracy, social and economic justice, climate change, gender equality, foreign policy and the changing global order.
Discussions will also cover emerging challenges posed by artificial intelligence, cloud capitalism, democratic institutions and international relations, Khurshid said.
He said the gathering would seek to develop a framework for international cooperation, particularly between countries of the Global North and Global South. The objective was to bring together progressive political forces and other stakeholders to discuss common challenges and explore collective responses. The summit would also provide an opportunity for international delegates to exchange ideas and build partnerships, he added.
CWC member Gurdeep Sappal said the idea of establishing an international think tank bringing together people from progressive political parties across the world had emerged during Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Germany last year.
The initiative was intended to address challenges arising from the changing global order. Over the past 15 years, divisive forces driven by hatred had gained ground across the world and needed to be challenged, he said.
Sridhar Babu said special sessions under the theme ‘Telangana Rising’ would showcase the State’s development initiatives and examine issues such as urbanisation, economic and social justice, welfare, federalism, culture, youth and sports.
Around 70 experts from across the world were expected to participate, and their recommendations would be useful to Telangana, he said. Union ministers, MPs and other dignitaries were also expected to attend.
Mahesh Goud clarified that his meeting with Rahul Gandhi had not covered differences among ministers and MPs or recent political developments in Delhi.
Those matters would be handled by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal and Telangana affairs in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, he said. He added that the process of filling nominated posts in the state would be completed by the end of November.