Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge not invited for President Murmu's banquet for Putin? BJP answers

Earlier, Congress alleged that protocol was being violated by not inviting Opposition leaders to the banquet being hosted for foreign dignitaries.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responded to Congress leaders' allegations that the Leaders of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were not invited for the banquet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.

File photo of Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi. (ANI?Jitender Gupta)

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With a dig at the Congress for doing “drama”, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said that it is upon the foreign dignitaries to decide if they wish to meet a leader.

"Whenever a foreign dignitary visits, they can indicate if they wish to meet any individual. You can see in the pictures that Rahul Gandhi has met ousted Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Mauritius, and the Prime Minister of New Zealand. So if these meetings happened, then why this drama?..." Bhatia said.

President Droupadi Murmu hosted a banquet dinner for Putin at the Rashtrapati Bhavan before he departed for Moscow from Delhi on Friday night. While Opposition leaders were absent from the guest list, Congress's Shashi Tharoor was invited to the dinner, drawing subtle criticism from his party. Tharoor later described the banquet as warm and engaging as he recalled engaging interactions with the Russian delegation.

Row over Putin banquet

Earlier, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had confirmed on Friday that LoPs Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were not invited to the official dinner as Congress leader Pawan Khera took a swipe at the BJP for inviting MP Shashi Tharoor., saying he was "quite surprised", especially as key Congress leaders were not included in the guest list. He accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.

While Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain said the Rashtrapati Bhawan should rise above “partisan preferences and biases”, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said it was "petty" to exclude LoPs.

"It's quite surprising that an invitation was sent...Jinhone invite kiya unhone kamaal kiya, jinne invitation liya vo bhi kamaal kar rahe hai (Those who sent the invitation have done something remarkable, and those who accepted it are also doing something remarkable)," Khera said.

Khera further said, “Everyone's conscience has a voice. When my leaders aren't invited, but I am, we should understand why the game is being played, who is playing the game, and why we shouldn't be part of it.”