Rahul Gandhi calls on Sri Lankan PM

Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, on Friday, called on Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in New Delhi.

Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, Sonia Gandhi, was also present in the meeting, along with former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and senior Congress party leader Anand Sharma.

Wickremesinghe arrived in India on Thursday on a three-day official visit. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

The visit of the Sri Lankan leader has come close on the heels of a media report that Maithripala Sirisena, the President of the island nation, accused India of hatching a plot to assassinate him.

However, Sirisena categorically rejected the report on Wednesday and hours later had a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Modi.

"He (President Sirisena) mentioned that the mischievous and mala fide reports were utterly baseless and false, and seemed intended to create misunderstanding between the two leaders as well as damage the cordial relations between the two friendly neighbours," read a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.

Wickremesinghe is also scheduled to meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh on October 20 before holding a meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj before concluding his visit the same day.