Congress leader Rahul Gandhi began his three-day visit to the US, arriving in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday, where he was warmly welcomed by members of the Indian diaspora and the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC).

Taking to his social media, the Congress leader shared the pictures of his welcome and wrote, “I am truly delighted by the warm welcome I’ve received in Dallas, Texas, USA, from the Indian Diaspora and members of the Indian Overseas Congress.”

“I eagerly look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions and insightful conversations that will further strengthen the bond between our two nations during this visit,” he added.

This is Rahul Gandhi’s first trip to America since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress leader will be in Dallas, Texas, on September 8 and in Washington, DC, on September 9-10.

Earlier, announcing Rahul Gandhi’s visit, IOC chief Sam Pitroda said that the Indian diaspora, including NRI residents, technocrats, business leaders, students, media fraternity and even political leaders, are eager to welcome the Congress MP and are looking forward to having an interaction with him.

“There are lots of events planned with a variety of people because they also have interest in the states where Congress party runs governments, particularly the tech cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. We see great interest in conversation with business and technological community,” he further informed.

“We look forward to a very successful visit and look forward to welcoming Rahul Gandhi to the US,” Pitroda said on a concluding note.

He also said that he was ‘bombarded’ with questions about Rahul Gandhi’s US visit from various quarters, and this video message was apparently to inform them about the Congress leader’s short but highly anticipated trip to the US.

Notably, Rahul Gandhi, after the 2024 Lok Sabha results, has been creating good momentum and garnering people’s support with his views on many issues of public interest. Political watchers anticipate his US visit to be more newsworthy and stir larger controversy back home this time.

Rahul won elections from two Lok Sabha constituencies – Rae Bareli and Wayanad, however, he chose to retain the former and leave the latter for his sister, Priyanka Gandhi.

In June this year, he was appointed the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha after getting a nod from the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

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A 15-year-old has died in Bihar’s Saran after a fake doctor allegedly relied on YouTube videos and performed an operation to remove a stone from his gall bladder. As the teenager’s situation deteriorated, the ‘doctor’ arranged an ambulance to rush him to a hospital in state capital Patna. The boy died on the way, and the ‘doctor’ and others with him abandoned the body at the hospital and fled the scene, the teenager’s family members have said.

Family members of Krishna Kumar said they took him to Ganpati Hospital in Saran after he vomited several times. “We admitted him and the vomiting stopped soon after. But the doctor Ajit Kumar Puri said he needs to be operated upon. He conducted the operation by watching videos on YouTube. My son died later,” Chandan Shaw.

The family members said they do not know if the ‘doctor’ had proper qualifications. “We think he was self-styled and fake,” they said.

The teenager’s grandfather said the boy was feeling better after the vomiting stopped. “But the doctor sent the father away on an errand and started operating on the boy without the family’s consent. The boy was in pain. When we asked the doctor why he was in pain, he snapped at us and asked if we were doctors. Later in the evening, the boy stopped breathing. He was revived (with CPR) and then rushed to Patna. He died on the way. They left the boy’s body on the stairs of the hospital and fled,” said Krishna Kumar’s grandfather Prahlad Prasad Shaw.

Asked why they took the boy to Ajit Kumar Puri if they were not sure of his qualifications, the family members said, “We just wanted the vomiting to stop. He conducted the operation without our consent.”

Police have registered an FIR and sent the body for autopsy. Attempts are being made to track down the self-styled doctor and other staff of Ganpati Seva Sadan. Parents admitted in the nursing home, meanwhile, have been abandoned after the staff went missing.