Congress leader and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi will embark on a 10-day visit to the United States on May 31. During this period, he will hold a rally of about 5,000 NRIs in New York's Madison Square Garden and also participate in a panel discussion in Washington.

Apart from this, Gandhi will also visit Stanford University in California to deliver a speech. He is scheduled to meet politicians and entrepreneurs as well.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on an official state visit to the US on June 22 where he will be hosted by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at a state dinner at the White House.

It is pertinent to mention how Gandhi dominated the headlines as he returned from London after giving speeches at Cambridge University, critical of the government and throwing light on Indian democracy

In March this year, Rahul Gandhi delivered a speech at Cambridge University, at a convention organized by the Association of Journalists in London and finally during an in-conversation session at the Chatham House think tank in London.

"Everybody knows and it's been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space," he said.

"The institutional framework which is required for a democratic Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, moving around all are getting constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy," he had added.

The remarks did not go well with the ruling BJP, who demanded an apology from Gandhi. Several of his statements in the UK stoked controversy in India. BJP intensified its attack on Rahul Gandhi with party chief JP Nadda alleging he is a "permanent part of the anti-India toolkit".