"It looked very petty": Priyanka Chaturvedi criticises non-presence of opposition leaders at banquet for Putin

The Shiv Sena UBT MP emphasised that the President's position is above politics and should remain bipartisan, representing all parties.

Speaking to ANI, Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "The President hosted a State dinner yesterday in honour of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the LoPs were not invited. The position of the President is not affiliated with any political side. It is bipartisan. So, the President has to take note of all sides...No trend should be started wherein the polluting of democratic rules and regulations is further aggravated. The dignity and responsibility of the position of the President should be upheld. It looked very petty that you invited just the ruling side."

Earlier today, Chaturvedi accused the government of "hijacking" the state visit of Putin.

In a post on X, she wrote, "Dear @rashtrapatibhvn, Your role in democracy is bipartisan. Your role is to uphold constitutional principles which includes both sides of democracy- the government and its opposition. Unfortunate to see a state banquet to welcome a foreign dignitary was hijacked by the government to keep away leaders of opposition. This doesn't augur well for democracy and only shows the pettiness of the ruling dispensation, don't become another toolkit in their hand to throttle long held customs and traditions."

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had confirmed that the Leaders of the Opposition (LoPs) in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge respectively, were not invited to the official dinner organised in honour of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a post shared on X, Congress leader said, "There has been speculation whether the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha have been invited for tonight's official dinner in honour of President Putin. The two LoPs have not been invited."

Congress leader Pawan Khera also questioned the decision to invite party MP Shashi Tharoor to the President's banquet. Khera said he was "quite surprised", especially as key Congress leaders were not included in the guest list. (ANI)