Former PM Manmohan Singh, Other Congress Leaders To Skip Official Banquet For Trump Over Sonia Gandhi Not Being Invited

In an unseen decision, the entire Congress party has decided to not attend the official banquet hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind in the honour of President of the United States (US) Donald Trump ruing about interim party president Sonia Gandhi not having been invited, reports The Hindu.

It should be noted that the President Kovind had sent invites to former prime minister of the nation Manmohan Singh, serving Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and also the serving Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad who are all senior leaders of the Congress party.

The banquet would have been the only engagement that the opposition leaders from across the spectrum were to get with President Trump as no officials from the US have reached out to the Congress party for any one-on-one meetings with Gandhi who heads the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP).

Meanwhile, Chowdhury has complained that the Government of India should have insisted on the US officials to meet with Gandhi and abide by the 'time-honoured principle.'

“It’s been a time-honoured tradition that when visiting dignitaries come, meetings with Opposition leaders take place. When the UPA was there and former President Barack Obama visited, he met with Opposition leaders,” he noted.