Ex-PMs, These Opposition Chief Ministers To Skip President’s G20 Dinner
Former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda will not attend the G20 dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu for world leaders on Saturday due to “health reasons”.
Sources said former prime ministers and Chief ministers, including opposition-ruled states among others, have been invited to the gala dinner.
Both Mr Singh and Mr Deve Gowda have conveyed to the central government about their inability to attend the dinner. “I wish the G20 summit a grand success”, Mr Gowda said on X.
Trinamool chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has confirmed their presence at the event. According to sources, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are also likely to attend the G20 dinner.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is also coming to the national capital on September 9 to attend the President’s dinner, his close aides confirmed. There are also reports that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may also attend the dinner.
Meanwhile, Congress sources said Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition, who is equivalent to a Union minister rank and holds a constitutional position, has not been invited to the dinner.
Asked about Mr Kharge not being invited to the G20 dinner, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “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 percent of India’s population. And it’s something that people should think about. Why do they feel the need to do that and what is the type of thinking that goes behind that,” he told reporters in Brussels when asked about it.
Ms Banerjee will be travelling to New Delhi on Friday afternoon to attend the G20 dinner, officials said and added that during her stay in the national capital, she will also meet leaders of different political parties.
However, chief ministers of Congress-ruled states of Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are unlikely to be present. There was no confirmation available about Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s presence at the dinner.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is also not attending the President’s G20 dinner, sources close to him said.
President Murmu will host the dinner on Saturday at Bharat Mandapam, the venue for the G20 summit of world leaders.