STATE TIMES NEWS
New Delhi: G20 leaders, including US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial Rajghat here on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the leaders at rain-drenched Rajghat.
He welcomed the dignitaries with an ‘angvastram’ or stole having in the background an image of Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat, which was his home from 1917 to 1930 and served as one of the main centres of India’s freedom struggle.
Modi was seen explaining to the leaders the significance of the ashram.
The G20 leaders paid tributes to Gandhi by laying wreaths together at his samadhi.
While some leaders, including Modi and Sunak, walked barefoot, others were seen wearing white footwear provided to the visitors at Rajghat.
Later, Modi said in a post on X that at the iconic Rajghat, the G20 family paid homage to Gandhi — the beacon of peace, service, compassion and non-violence.
“As diverse nations converge, Gandhi ji’s timeless ideals guide our collective vision for a harmonious, inclusive and prosperous global future,” he wrote.
Modi shared a video on X in which the leaders were seen signing on ‘peace wall’ at the ‘Leaders’ Lounge’.
Us President Joe Biden said,”The partnership between India and the United States is rooted in Mahatma Gandhi’s principal of trusteeship trusteeship that is shared between our countries and for our shared planet. Thank you, Prime Minister for bringing us here today (sic),” Biden said in a post on platform X.
Biden, who is currently in Hanoi, Vietnam on an official visit, also posted a picture of him and the G20 leaders paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial. “It was an honor to visit the Raj Ghat Memorial today, and lay a wreath with my fellow G20 leaders. Mahatma Gandhi’s message of non-violence, respect, and truth matters today more than ever – may it continue to inspire the world and be the basis of the bond between our countries,” Biden said in another post. He also posted a 19-second video of the event.