NEW DELHI: The special dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at the Bharat Mandapam included world leaders representing the G20 and specially invited countries, India’s richest business leaders including Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, all Prime Ministers and Union Ministers Saturday.
Although former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was invited, his office confirmed that he would not be able to attend due to health reasons.

All prime ministers, including those from states governed by the opposition, were invited. However, many opposition parties are unlikely to attend the high-profile event, which the US president will attend Joe BidenBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, French President Emmanuel Macron, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, among others.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has confirmed her attendance at the dinner, along with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin. Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah are unlikely to participate due to pre-planned programs in their respective states.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who is Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and holds the rank of Cabinet Minister, was not invited but his post was confirmed to TOI. Leaders of opposition parties and parliamentary group leaders also confirmed that they were not invited to dinner.

Opposition sources expressed objections to Kharge’s exclusion from the guest list, saying the move was problematic not only because he represented the entire opposition bloc, but also because the G20 dinner would be hosted by the president and not the government.
Apart from Ambani and Adani, chairman of Tata Sons N ChandrasekaranAditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and Bharti Airtel Founder Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal are among the business leaders invited to dinner.