The government has effectively turned the G20 into a nationwide event, 200 meetings in 58 cities, Shashi Tharoor said.
New Delhi:
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday praised the New Delhi statement by G20 members, saying it “undoubtedly” represents a “diplomatic triumph for India”.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Mr Tharoor said, “The Delhi Declaration is undoubtedly a diplomatic triumph for India. It is a good achievement because until the convening of the G20 Summit there was widespread expectation that there would be no agreement and therefore a joint communiqué may not be possible and we may have to end with a summary from the President .”
On Saturday, on the opening day of the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a consensus had been built on the G20 Summit Declaration in New Delhi before its adoption was formally announced.
Prime Minister Modi, who chaired G20 sessions throughout the day, congratulated the Sherpas and Ministers for their efforts to find common ground and ultimately reach a consensus among all G20 members and other stakeholders.
Tharoor further praised India for getting all member states to agree on the New Delhi Declaration.
“The main reason (in the absence of consensus on the statement) was the wide gap between those who wanted a condemnation of the Russian war in Ukraine and those, such as Russia and China, who did not want to mention that topic at all. “India was able to find a formula to bridge that gap and that is a major diplomatic achievement because if there is a Summit without a joint communiqué, it is always seen as a setback for the Chairman,” added Mr. Tharoor added.
On the conduct of the G20 summit under India’s presidency, Tharoor said the government had effectively turned it into a ‘people’s G20’, adding that it was also an attempt by the ‘ruling party’ (BJP) to turn the mega group of world leaders to make a large group of world leaders. ‘asset’ for oneself.
“What was remarkable about the government’s actions as president was that they did something that no previous G20 presidency has done. They basically turned it into a nationwide event, 200 meetings in 58 cities with a huge amount of action, they turned the G20 into a kind of G20 people. With public events, the university connects programs and social organizations, all these things were done under our presidency. That is in some ways an honor for India because it has taken the message of the G20 to the entire nation. But it was also an attempt by the ruling party to instrumentalize the G20 as something that would prove to be an asset to them,” Tharoor said.
While announcing the conclusion of the G20 summit on Sunday, Prime Minister Modi proposed to hold a virtual G20 session in November to discuss the suggestions and proposals made at the premier forum for international economic cooperation.
On this, Mr Tharoor said: “They have every right to do that, they are the ruling party. Many countries have hosted the G20 event, but never has a ruling party celebrated its leadership in such a way, the whole Vishwaguru concept, Mr Modi’s posters every 50 meters in Delhi. These are all promoting the G20 as if it is the personal achievement of Mr Modi and the BJP government and I think that has raised a few eyebrows.”
Before declaring the summit closed, Prime Minister Modi handed over the ceremonial gavel of the Group of 20 to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
India assumed the chairmanship of the G20 on December 1 last year and around 200 meetings related to the G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
