MEA denies receiving request for Rahul's visit for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

New Delhi [India], June 28 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that the ministry has not received any formal request for Congress President Rahul Gandhi's visit for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

Addressing the media, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "We have not received any formal request for Rahul Gandhi's visit to Kailash Mansarovar Yatra."

Reportedly, the Congress had claimed that Gandhi applied for special permission, which is normally granted to Members of Parliament (MPs) but was yet to receive an answer so far from the MEA.

While addressing a rally on April 30, the Congress President had announced that he will undertake the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage post-Karnataka Assembly elections.

Gandhi had stated that the thought of Yatra struck his mind when he was travelling to Karnataka in a chartered aircraft that suddenly descended by 8,000 feet due to a technical snag.

This year's Kailash Mansarovar Yatra had started on June 8.

The four-month travel period of the pilgrimage starts in June. Thousands of Indian pilgrims take part in the Yatra every year via Nepal in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China ahead of the monsoon season.

The tour is organised by the MEA each year between June and September in cooperation with the government of People's Republic of China, through two different routes - Lipulekh Pass (Uttarakhand) and Nathu La Pass (Sikkim).

The NathuLa route was opened to Indian pilgrims in 2015. After crossing over the Nathu La pass, Indian pilgrims are ferried by Chinese transportation to Kailash. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI