In swipe at govt, Cong says 7th NAM summit took place in 1983 'without much self-serving publicity'

The Congress on Sunday took a swipe at the government, saying the 7th Non-Aligned Summit took place in 1983 ''without much hype and self-serving publicity'' in New Delhi.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also shared a video clip of former prime minister Indira Gandhi receiving world leaders at the summit.

The Congress has accused the government of running an ''election campaign'' using the upcoming G20 meeting in India and using it to divert people's attention from real issues.

Ramesh said, ''The 7th Non-Aligned Summit took place without much hype and self-serving publicity in New Delhi for five days in March 1983.'' ''Incidentally, this was the Summit to which Fidel Castro brought along Gabriel Garcia Marquez as part of the Cuban delegation. Now, of course, the self-styled Vishwaguru refers to these countries as the Global South,'' he said.

The G20 Leaders' Summit is scheduled to be held at the Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition-Convention Centre here on September 9-10.