NEW DELHI: Union ministers and chief ministers of several states on Saturday attended a gala dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in honour of the leaders of BRICS and other participating countries and organisations.
The Union ministers, including Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Kiren Rijiju travelled together in two buses from the Parliament House complex amidst tight security.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and chief ministers of various states -- Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Suvendu Adhikari (West Bengal), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand), and Rekha Gupta (Delhi) -- also travelled in the buses along with the Union ministers to the dinner venue Bharat Mandapam.
The ministers were allotted different tables where delegates from different countries joined them during the dinner.
Separate dinner tables were curated in a way so that the attendees could easily interact with each other while cherishing the lavish vegetarian spread.
The menu of the dinner included khandvi mille-feuille, khumb galouti, paneer lababdar, gucchi marmik, carrot bean poriyal, and millet pulao, among others. The dessert included Old Delhi fruit cream with jalebi and shahtoot phirni.
India is hosting the BRICS summit from September 12 to 13 and it is being attended by leaders of 11 member countries and 10 partner countries besides some international organisations.