NEW DELHI: Congress president and the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has not been invited to the G20 dinner being hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday. This comes amid the controversy over the use of ‘Bharat’ instead of ‘India’ in the President’s G20 invitations to foreign dignitaries.
Significantly, all Cabinet and state ministers, and all state Chief Ministers including opposition-ruled states have been invited to the dinner, which will be attended by several world leaders.
Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda are also on the guest list. Speaking to this paper, an opposition leader said that none of the leaders of opposition parties or floor leaders were invited to the event. The exclusion of Kharge, who also holds a cabinet minister rank, from the invitee list may further strain the ties between the Opposition parties and the Modi government, which is at loggerheads over various issues. The Opposition has accused the government of using the G-20 summit for India for political gains.
It is learnt that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister CM MK Stalin have confirmed their attendance at the dinner gala. The event will take place at the multi-function hall of the Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan. Several industrialists including Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani are also on the guest list.
More than 40 delegations are expected to take part in the G20 Leaders' Summit, to be held at the Bharat Mandapam in Delhi.