Hyderabad, November 2026 : Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday to participate in a major programme focused on gig and platform workers, including a rally and direct interaction with workers near the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC).
Gandhi received a warm welcome at Shamshabad Airport from Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Bomma Mahesh Kumar Goud.
The Telangana government has made extensive arrangements for the programme, during which key rules, regulations and welfare initiatives under the state's gig workers legislation are expected to be formally launched. Gandhi is expected to inaugurate the initiatives and interact with workers from the platform-based economy, including delivery executives, cab drivers and others employed in the sector.
The programme is aimed at highlighting the concerns and welfare needs of gig workers, a rapidly expanding segment of the workforce.
Apart from the workers' programme, Gandhi is scheduled to address the valedictory session of the second Bharat Summit, being held in Hyderabad from November 12. He is expected to outline his vision for India and the world, including an alternative approach to the country's foreign policy.
According to the summit's agenda paper, Gandhi will present a foreign policy vision based on principled multilateralism, strategic autonomy, peaceful coexistence and democratic values. His proposed approach envisages an India that speaks with moral clarity and strategic confidence, builds partnerships rather than lectures other countries, and represents the aspirations of the Global South in international forums.
Organised by the Telangana government, the Bharat Summit is being projected as a major international gathering of progressive leaders following significant electoral outcomes in Brazil, Hungary and Serbia. It is also taking place immediately after the US midterm elections.
The three-day summit seeks to revive the legacy of Afro-Asian solidarity and the Non-Aligned Movement, traditions that India played a significant role in shaping. The agenda paper describes the gathering as an important platform for strengthening cooperation among countries of the Global South.
More than 1,000 delegates from 70 countries, including policymakers, political leaders, intellectuals and social changemakers, are participating in the event. The summit aims to facilitate discussions on global challenges, democratic values and alternative approaches to international cooperation.
