Hope, Bharat has not reached a stage where democracy, Oppn will cease to exist

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday took a swipe at the government for not inviting Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge for the G20 dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu, saying this can happen only in countries where there is no democracy or no opposition and Bharat has not reached a stage where the democracy will cease to exist.

SIamming the government in a post on X, Chidambaram wrote, "I cannot imagine any other democratic country's government not inviting the recognised Leader of the Opposition to a state dinner for world leaders. This can happen only in countries where there is no Democracy or no Opposition."

"I hope India, that is Bharat, has not reached a stage where Democracy and the Opposition will cease to exist," the former Union minister said.

He made the remarks over Kharge, who is also the Congress President, and has not been invited for the dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu.

G20 Summit is to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 under India's Presidency this year. Many dignitaries including US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida among others have arrived to participate in the summit.