Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Narendra Modi government over reports of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge not being invited to the G20 Summit dinner, saying the saffron party “does not value the leader of 60% of India’s population.”
“What is contrary about it? They have decided not to invite the Leader of the Opposition. It tells you something. It tells you that they don’t value the Leader of 60% of India’s population. It’s something that people should think about – why they are feeling the need to do that and what type of thinking goes behind that,” Gandhi told reporters during a press meet in Brussels.
Gandhi is on a three-nation European tour where he will hold several meetings with parliamentarians and lawmakers. On Thursday, the Congress leader held closed-door meetings with some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in Brussels. Further, he is set to travel to Paris and meet French lawmakers. Before returning to India, his last trip would be to Norway, where he is expected to meet the country’s parliamentarians in Oslo.
Kharge not invited to G20 dinner?
According to several media reports, Kharge, who is also the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, has not been invited to the mega G20 dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday. This comes after the INDIA alliance opposed a G20 dinner invitation from the President that described her position as ‘President of Bharat’ – amid the INDIA vs Bharat row.
However, other leaders from the alliance including Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and Nitish Kumar, among others have been invited to the gala dinner.
The G20 Summit, a highly anticipated event featuring top world leaders, will be held at the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) complex in New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan on September 9 and 10. Several leaders including US President Joe Biden, Canada PM Justin Trudeau, and UK PM Rishi Sunak, will be attending the event in the national capital.
