Can happen only in countries where there's no democracy or opposition: Chidambaram
Former Union Minister on 'no G20 dinner invite' to Kharge
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday slammed the government over the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge not being invited to the G20 gala dinner, saying this can happen only in countries where there is no democracy or no opposition.
Chidambaram said he hopes India, that is Bharat, has not reached a stage where democracy and the opposition will cease to exist.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said party chief and the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Kharge has not been invited to the G20 gala dinner. He alleged that the government doesn't value the leader of 60 per cent of India's population.
In a post on X, Chidambaram said, "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," he said.
President Droupadi Murmu will host the dinner on Saturday at Bharat Mandapam, the venue for the G20 Summit of world leaders.
Interacting with the media at Brussels Press Club in Brussels, Gandhi said the government's action tells about its thinking.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
