Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to speak at prestigious US varsity on September 11

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will speak at a prestigious American university on September 11 on his view of contemporary India and the path forward for the world's largest democracy, the varsity has announced.

Gandhi will give a lecture on 'India At 70: Reflections On The Path Forward', an event sponsored by the Institute of International Studies Berkeley Research on Contemporary India Program and the Institute for South Asia Studies at the University of California (UC), the university said on its website.

"Rahul Gandhi has led the reorganisation of India's Congress Party since becoming the vice president of the party in 2013. At UC Berkeley, he will offer his reflections on contemporary India and the path forward for the world s largest democracy. He follows in the footsteps of his great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, who delivered a historic speech at Berkeley in 1949," it said.

Meanwhile, Rights group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has called upon the university to withdraw the speaking invitation to Gandhi, citing the Congress party's alleged role in the anti-Sikh riots that erupted following the assassination of Gandhi's grandmother former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.