US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's second visit to India has become a subject of interest because he will not be travelling to the nation's capital, New Delhi.
The US Department of State said Rubio will travel to Mumbai and Jamnagar "to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership, exchange views on regional and global dynamics, and discuss prospects for enhanced energy cooperation". He is also expected to meet with business leaders in India.
Neither the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) nor the US government has provided a reason for Rubio's absence from Delhi this time. One obvious explanation could be New Delhi's current status as a major political flashpoint, with police and security personnel frequently clashing with protesters who are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral reforms. Opposition parties, student organisations, and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are leading the protests in the capital.
During his first visit to India in May this year, New Delhi was on the agenda. Rubio called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had a bilateral meeting with EAM Jaishankar at the Hyderabad House.
The latest Rubio visit breaks a certain pattern. John Kerry was the last US Secretary of State to skip New Delhi during an official visit. He travelled to Ahmedabad on January 11, 2015 to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit. Every US Secretary of State after Kerry, namely Rex Tillerson, Michael Pompeo and Antony Blinken, has been in New Delhi during their India visits.
Interestingly, as per records listed by the Office of the Historian under the US Department of State, no other US Secretary of State has skipped New Delhi during their India visit, a list stretching back to John Dulles in 1953.
Congress leaders have taken potshots at the Union government over the Rubio itinerary. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh asked why the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) was silent on Minister S Jaishankar's "tryst with Mr. Rubio in Mumbai?"
"It is not surprising that the US Ambassador to India has just given more details on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s forthcoming visit to Mumbai. It is also not wholly surprising to hear him say that Mr. Rubio will be meeting Govt of India officials in Mumbai. But what is quite extraordinary is his statement that “we expect the Minister Dr. Jaishankar to be joining us there along with other individuals”," Ramesh posted on X.
"Since when has the announcement of India’s Minister of External Affairs meetings within India been outsourced to somebody other than the official spokesperson of the MEA? India gets to know from the US Ambassador just as it first got to know from Mr. Rubio himself on the evening of May 10, 2025 that Operation Sindoor had been halted."
Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi mocked the development with an X post. "Mr Rubio has summoned his employee to Mumbai. Modi ji, your officials in the External Affairs Ministry are confused about what's going on. You might want to explain. Unless, of course, you want me to."'
Written by Arun George