Adhir won't attend Trump dinner, cites exclusion of Sonia

 New Delhi: Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who has been invited to attend the dinner with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, said he will not attend the function as his party chief Sonia Gamdhi has not been invited.

Speaking to IANS, Chowdhury said, "I have received the invite from President Ram Nath Kovind, but I have decided not to attend the dinner."

The Congress leader said, "The government is not courteous enough to invite my party chief Sonia Gandhi. Since she has not been invited, I too will not attend the function."

Hitting out at the present dispensation, he said the government should have shown the decency to invite the chief of a national party. "This is a departure from the past practice of inviting senior leaders of opposition parties".

He said the government was busy in Trump's visit at a time when on an average, 31 farmers commit suicide every day across the country.

"The government is busy in spending lavishly on his visit to please him while unemployment rate is at its peak in India and the economy is in doldrums," he said.

He also questioned eviction of slum-dwellers in Ahmedabad for the US President's visit.

Trump is scheduled to visit India on February 24 and 25. The couple will spend the first day of the trip in Gujarat's Ahmedabad and Uttar Pradesh's Agra before moving to Delhi for the official reception and bilateral talks.

This is Trump's first state visit to India and also a first standalone visit by a US President to India.