India, Oct. 16 -- The government on Friday sought to address the opposition's criticism of external affairs minister S Jaishankar travelling to Mumbai to meet US secretary of state Marco Rubio next week and said it has been a practice over the past decade for foreign dignitaries to be hosted outside New Delhi.

Congress leaders had earlier criticised the government after US ambassador Sergio Gor said at a public event that "we expect.Jaishankar to be joining us [in Mumbai]" for Rubio's visit. Rubio is set to travel to Mumbai and Jamnagar, and the capital is not part of his itinerary.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Jairam Ramesh had questioned why the US envoy had announced the external affairs minister's meetings, with Gandhi saying "...