India blocks 115 democracy summit speakers, MP says

India blocked 115 international speakers from attending a democracy summit organised by the opposition Congress party, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said Friday.

Tharoor said 115 of 315 speakers cleared by India's foreign ministry were later refused entry or had their visas cancelled, apparently on the instructions of the home ministry. He said it was unclear under what law the government had taken the step.

Those denied visas included Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, who had previously questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi about press freedom. Lyng said Wednesday that her visa was cancelled shortly before she was due to travel to India to speak on media and press freedom.

The Editors Guild of India condemned the cancellation, called on the government to disclose its reasons and urged it to reverse the decision.

The two-day summit opened Friday in Hyderabad. It brings together around 1,000 delegates from more than 70 countries to discuss democracy, climate change, artificial intelligence and global cooperation.