Rahul Gandhi 'insulted' Northeast by not wearing 'Gamosa' at Rashtrapati Bhavan's At-Home: BJP
New Delhi (PTI): A political row erupted on Monday over Rahul Gandhi allegedly refusing to wear an Assamese 'Gamosa' given to all the guests at a reception hosted by President Droupadi Murmu, with the BJP alleging that the Congress leader insulted the country's Northeast.
The BJP also accused the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha of showing disregard for President Murmu by not wearing the 'Gamosa' while the Congress countered by pointing out that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had also not worn the "patka (scarf)".
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma demanded an "unconditional apology" from Gandhi, alleging that it was deeply insensitive and insulting to the people of the entire Northeast with the Congress leader choosing not to wear the traditional patka, which is a symbol of the region's rich cultural heritage.
The development took place after a section of the media claimed that all guests except Gandhi wore the Gamosa presented to them at the event.
Citing certain media reports, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said in a post on X, "Shameful! Rahul Gandhi has insulted the north east and also disrespected our very hon'ble President."
Hitting out Gandhi, Sarma said that times may change, but the attitude of the "de facto supremo" of the Congress party "regrettably" appears unchanged.
"From the President and the Prime Minister to foreign dignitaries, everyone wore the Patka with respect and pride. Mr Gandhi alone stood apart, reinforcing a perception of disregard towards the North East," the Assam chief minister wrote on X.
Such a conduct explains why his party has "lost the trust of the region and much of the country. Yet, this repeated insensitivity continues", he charged.
"Mr Rahul Gandhi must issue an unconditional apology to the people of the North East for this affront. The people of the region deserve respect," he added.
The Congress hit back at the BJP with the party media and publicity department head Pawan Khera posting on X a picture of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, asking the Assam chief minister if he will demand an apology from Singh also for not wearing the patka.
"Hey @himantabiswa, will you seek an apology from @rajnathsingh ji too? Or your entire strategy to fight anti incumbency is to pick up such non issues?" Khera asked, tagging both Singh and Biswa in his post on the micro-blogging platform.
Congress MP Manickam also slammed the BJP over the issue and asked the Assam chief minister why Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did not wear the Northeast patka.
"The 2016 batch of betrayer must stop this nonsense. Why is @rajnathsingh ji not wearing the North east patka then? Stop dragging the Hon'ble President @rashtrapatibhvn into your cheap politics," Tagore said in a post on X.
"The 2016 batch of betrayer must stop this nonsense. Why is @rajnathsingh ji not wearing the North east patka then? Stop dragging the Hon'ble President @rashtrapatibhvn into your cheap politics," Tagore said.
This comes on a day the Congress accused the NDA government of insulting the Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge respectively, by seating them in the third row during the Republic Day parade event at Kartavya Path.
Sharing pictures of their leaders seated in the back rows during the ceremony, several Congress leaders raised questions over the "protocol mess-up" and propriety.
Hitting back, Poonawalla accused the Congress of putting "entitlement and ego" as well as "parivar and position" of Gandhi family above the people.
"They feel 'parivar tantra (family system)' is above 'sanvidhan tantra (constitutional system)'. Seating is decided by a set format -- Warrant or Table of Precedence. One can see even senior cabinet ministers around or even behind Rahul Gandhi but none of them made it an issue," the BJP spokesperson said in a post on X.
"Rahul thinks he is the owner of India? By the way, why does he bunk important programmes? Where was he during the VP Oath? CJI Oath? I-Day programme?" Poonawalla asked.
Reacting sharply, another BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused the Congress of politicising the seating arrangements at the Republic Day and called Gandhi an "insincere politician".
"Shameful of the Congress to politicise even seating arrangements at Republic Day'. Rahul Gandhi is an insincere politician, who chooses politics over national interest," Bhandari charged.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
