G20 Summit: Cong chief Mallikarjun Kharge not invited to President's dinner

The heads of other Opposition parties as well as floor leaders in Parliament have also not received invitations for the President's G20 dinner

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has not been invited to the G20 Summit dinner hosted by the President, reported NDTV.

The Congress has taken exception to Kharge's exclusion as the dinner will be hosted by President Droupadi Murmu and not the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, a Times of India (ToI) report said.

The heads of other Opposition parties and floor leaders in Parliament have also not received invitations.

However, the chief ministers of all states and Cabinet and state ministers have been invited to the dinner scheduled for Saturday (September 9).

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu's MK Stalin, Nitish Kumar from Bihar, and Bhagwant Mann from Punjab are among those who have confirmed their attendance. Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda have turned down the invitation because of ill health.

The heads of state of more than 30 countries will attend the dinner scheduled at Bharat Mandapam, the convention centre set up for the G20 Summit in New Delhi's Pragati Maidan.

The dinner invitation sparked controversy earlier as it described Murmu as the "President of Bharat" instead of the usual "President of India".

PM Modi to hold 15 bilateral meetings during G20 Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold more than 15 bilateral meetings during the G20 Summit, reported news agency PTI.

PM Modi will meet with US President Biden on Friday and is expected to discuss a deal to manufacture jet engines in India jointly, the purchase of MQ-9B-armed drones, and an agreement on civil nuclear liability. He will also hold talks with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth on Friday.

On Saturday, he will hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Italy.

On the summit's final day, PM Modi will hold a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron. He will also meet on the sidelines with Canada's Justin Trudeau.