G20 Presidency honour for India, all political parties are stakeholders: PM Modi at all-party meeting

New Delhi: Noting India’s G20 Presidency is an honour for the country which every Indian should take pride in, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday sought cooperation from political parties for its success and termed them, stakeholders.

India’s G20 presidency is an honour for the country which is something every Indian should take pride in, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told political parties at the meeting on Monday.

Sources said Prime Minister told an all-party meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan that India’s G20 presidency is not just an honour to any particular individual or political party but for the entire nation.

“It is a big proud moment for us as a nation and all of us are stakeholders and therefore we all need to cooperate and make this a huge success,” sources said quoting PM.

Further elaborating on how this brings an opportunity for India to showcase its vast cultural heritage, PM said, “There was a point when everybody would consider India only up to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru but now we will be able to show the world the unseen India which is beautiful and dynamic yet united.”

The sources also said that the Prime Minister requested all political parties to participate wholly and encourage public partnership and engagement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired an all-party meeting to underscore the significance of India’s presidency of the G20 and brief the leaders about the government’s approach.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik were among those present at the meeting which was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Among those leaders who spoke in this meeting included Former Prime Minister HD Devegowda, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, MK Stalin, Mamata Banerjee, JP Nadda and N Chandrababu Naidu among others.

On behalf of the government, Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over the meeting. The opening remarks were made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman followed by a presentation by the foreign secretary.

Senior ministers in the government including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were present at the meeting.

India formally assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1.

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. Last month, Indonesia handed over the G20 presidency to India in the presence of PM Modi at the Bali summit for the coming year.