No Paid Crowd: Organisers Of 'Melbourne Meets Modi' Seek Apology From Rahul Gandhi, Kharge

Published 14 July 2026 · politics

No Paid Crowd: Organisers Of 'Melbourne Meets Modi' Seek Apology From Rahul Gandhi, Kharge Published By, Last Updated: July 14, 2026, 11:47 IST The 'Melbourne

No Paid Crowd: Organisers Of 'Melbourne Meets Modi' Seek Apology From Rahul Gandhi, Kharge Published By, Last Updated: July 14, 2026, 11:47 IST The 'Melbourne Meets Modi' event was organised by Australia India Foundation on July 9 at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium to welcome the Prime Minister on his state-visit to the nation Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese at 'Melbourne Meets Modi' | Image: PTI Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his official trip to Australia, organisers of the ‘Melbourne Meets Modi’ event penned an open letter to Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking an apology over allegations that attendees at the reception were a “paid crowd".

The ‘Melbourne Meets Modi’ event was organised by Australia India Foundation on July 9 at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium to welcome the Prime Minister on his state-visit to the nation. Organisers of the event staunchly rejected claims that crowds were funded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the government, calling them “deeply disrespectful" and “entirely false". They stressed that those who travelled to Melbourne to attend the event did so voluntarily. How The Controversy Unfolded The community reception organised for Prime Minister Modi –– which attracted a tens of thousands of attendees –– was criticised by the Congress party that alleged that the display of the Indian leader’s popularity was “manufactured". Congress leader Pawan Khera cited a foreign media report that claimed that the attendees who gathered at the event had been paid to be there and that “paid NRIs" had been carried to the venue.

In a conversation with India Today, one of the organisers, Amit Karanth, said the remarks made by the Congress leader were simply “incorrect" and “deeply disappointing". “They also paid for their own accommodation and other expenses. So describing the event as a ‘paid crowd’ is simply incorrect and deeply disappointing. Not a single penny was spent to bring people from different states to Melbourne. They travelled on their own and attended voluntarily," he said. Prime Minister Modi undertook a three-day visit to Australia from July 8 to July 10, 2026, as part of a three-nation Indo-Pacific tour. The ‘Melbourne Meets Modi‘ event was attended by PM Modi, his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, and Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan.