G20: Himachal CM Sukhu meets PM Modi on sidelines of G20 dinner, seeks rain package

New Delhi [India], September 10 (ANI): While several invited Congress leaders, including sitting chief ministers, skipped the G20 dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu in the national capital, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu attended the event on Saturday evening.
The dinner was hosted at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam, which is also the main venue for the 18th G20 Leaders' Summit.
Barring Sukhu and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, several leaders representing the Opposition bloc — Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) — stayed away from the dinner in proest against Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge not being included in the list of invitees.
According to an official release from the Himachal government, CM Sukhu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the dinner and held a brief discussion on issues pertaining to the state.
Further, according to sources, Sukhu briefed Prime Minister Modi on the damage to life, property and public infrastructure caused by the monsoon fury and mudslides in the state and urged him to declare the calamity as a 'national disaster'.
“In the last two months, due to heavy rains, landslides and floods in the state, more than 400 people have lost their lives and more than 13 thousand houses have been damaged, due to which thousands of families have become homeless. Due to this natural disaster, the state has suffered a loss of more than Rs 12 thousand crores," CM Sukhu was quoted in the government release as telling PM Modi.
After listening to the CM's briefing of the state's situation, PM Modi told Sukhu that his demand would be considered.
“The state needs an economic package from the Centre to recover from this disaster. On the lines of the disasters in Bhuj and Kedarnath, Himachal should also be given a special relief package," the CM was quoted in the release as telling PM Modi.
US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other countries' Presidents, Prime Ministers, representatives of 19 invited countries, representatives of various international organizations including the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organization, Union Cabinet Ministers and Chief Ministers of various states, besides other dignitaries were also present on the occasion. (ANI)