NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, FEB 25
Irked over Sonia Gandhi not being invited for the official banquet being hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind in honour of US President Donald Trump today, several Congress leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, have decided to skip the event.
Singh had earlier accepted the invite but later on, Monday conveyed his regret to the President’s office for not being able to attend the banquet. The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has also decided to not attend the event as a mark of protest.
The opposition Congress is peeved at the Modi government’s move to not allow its top leaders a meeting with the visiting US president, as has been the tradition. This will probably be the first time that leaders of the principal opposition will miss the official banquet in honour of a visiting head of state and will not hold separate discussions, Congress leaders said.
