Sonia Gandhi ‘ignored’, Adhir may skip President event, no clarity on Azad

NEW DELHI: Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s decision to boycott the President’s banquet for US President Donald Trump has triggered questions if his counterpart in Rajya Sabha too will follow suit.
Congress sources said leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad was likely to attend the dinner.
Chowdhury has slammed the Modi government for not inviting Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to a meeting with Trump, saying it had reduced the foreign dignitary’s visit to a BJP function. His claim of BJP having slighted Sonia appeared to turn the party’s presence at the banquet into a tricky issue. According to a report, Azad ducked queries on the subject after a function in Mumbai.
But not all in Congress appeared comfortable with the idea of a boycott as it “involves diplomacy”. Till Chowdhury’s announcement, Congress had appeared set to attend the banquet through its two members. Party spokesman Anand Sharma said, “In the past, the Centre always arranged meetings of foreign heads of government with opposition leaders as foreign policy is bipartisan. This government has ended it.”