Not inviting Kharge for dinner shows govt doesn't value leader of India's 60% population: Rahul

Brussels: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a Europe tour, on Friday slammed the government for not inviting party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to the dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu, saying it shows that they don’t value the leader of 60 per cent of India’s population.

Addressing a press conference here, Rahul Gandhi said, “What’s contrary about it. They have not invited the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and it tells you that they don’t value the leader of 60 per cent of India’s population and it's something people should think of. Why are they feeling the need to do that and why that type of thinking goes behind that.”

He was responding to a question on India hosting the G20 Summit and the news that Congress President Kharge has not been invited for the dinner hosted by the President.

To a question on growing tensions in the world, the Congress leader said, "China is proposing a particular view and a vision of the planet and they are putting on the table the idea of a belt and road. And the reason they are able to do that is because they have become a centre of global production."

He said that he informed the people whom he met on Thursday in Brussels too. "This is what I told people yesterday in the External Affairs Office. But I don’t see an alternative vision coming from our side. That vision requires a vision for production in a democratic environment," the Congress leader said.

Gandhi said the Chinese has shown that it can produce effectively in a cohesive environment where prosperity is offered without political freedom.

"And the challenge for us is can we provide an alternative vision where we do production under democratic conditions with political and economic freedom. And I think there can be a lot of cooperation between Europe, US and us and

I think that’s where a lot of our focus should go," he said, adding that how can we create an alternative Chinese production model which is cohesive.

"A competitive vision," he added.

To another question, he said, “The aim of the visit is to meet our diaspora here and gauge what they are going through. Another aim is to meet the members of the government here, MPs and others to get the sense how they see India and possible cooperation, what India should be doing and also giving a sense of how our relationship should look like."

Rahul Gandhi arrived in Brussels on September 6 and he will visit some other nations like France, Netherlands and Norway till September 11 and participate in several interactive programmes and also meet businessmen and

diaspora.

Rahul Gandhi will be returning to India on September 12 after concluding his week-long visit.