Today in Politics: Curtain to come down on G20 Summit after landmark New Delhi Declaration

A day after India accomplished a remarkable diplomatic feat as the G20 Summit adopted a consensus declaration overcoming major differences on the Russia-Ukraine war, the conclave of the major global grouping of developed and developing countries being held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi will conclude Sunday.

Acknowledging differences and framing contentious issues in a language that leaned towards commonality rather than conflict, India Saturday pulled off the diplomatically challenging task of reaching a consensus between the G7 grouping and the Russia-China bloc on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This helped clear the way to arrive at a joint communique at the G20 leaders’ summit that was considerably more expansive and elaborate than last year’s Bali declaration, Harikishan Sharma and Shubhajit Roy reported.

Announcing this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his remarks on “One Family”, said: “…Good news has just arrived. With our teams’ hard work and your cooperation, consensus has emerged on New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Summit Declaration…I propose that the Leaders’ Declaration be adopted. I announce adoption of the Declaration.”

When the G20 leaders adopted the document, leaders were seen clapping and thumping the table. The PM thanked his team including ministers, G20 Sherpa and all officials for their hard work.

PM Modi called for ending “global trust deficit”. He also announced that the 55-member African Union was admitted as G20’s permanent member.

Asserting that “today’s era must not be of war”, the New Delhi G20 Summit Leaders’ Declaration under India’s presidency called on all States to uphold the principles of international law, including territorial integrity and sovereignty and pitched for initiatives for “comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine”.

The announcement about a consensus on the 37-page declaration and its subsequent adoption was made by PM Modi at the start of the second session on the opening day of the two-day Summit. It came hours after India circulated a new text to the member countries to describe the Ukraine conflict.

“History has been created with the adoption of the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. United in consensus and spirit, we pledge to work collaboratively for a better, more prosperous, and harmonious future. My gratitude to all fellow G20 members for their support and cooperation,” Modi posted later on X.

The leaders attending the Summit include US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

However, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin skipped the Summit.

India along with the US and several major economies also announced an ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor with PM Modi emphasising on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations while promoting connectivity initiatives.

On Sunday morning, the participating global leaders and delegations will visit Rajghat to pay their tributes at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial.

They will later attend the third and concluding session of the Summit, called “One Future”, at Bharat Mandapam.

In poll-bound Rajasthan, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is set to address a public meeting at Niwai in Tonk.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who reviewed the preparations for Priyanka’s rally, said Saturday that leaders were working together to ensure the party’s victory in the state Assembly elections slated for December this year.

Accusing the BJP of trying to divert people’s attention in the name of religion, Pilot said the Congress was fully prepared. “Rahul Gandhi had recently held a meeting in Rajasthan. Priyanka Gandhi is coming tomorrow and other leaders will also come, we are working together and will form government again,” he told reporters in Niwai.

Slamming the BJP-led central government, he said, “The public will assess the BJP’s work on the ground in nine years. What is the condition of inflation? What is the condition of unemployment? The farmers are worried, the youth are worried about their future… elections are fought on all these issues.”

The AICC in charge of Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and the party’s state president Govind Singh Dotasara also visited the venue of Priyanka’s rally to review the preparations.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot visited the venue on Friday evening and said 300 kitchens would be started simultaneously in the rural areas of the state under the “Indira Rasoi Yojana” on that day. “Having the programme in Niwai matters. Our Indira Rasoi Yojana has become very popular. This subsidy-based scheme has given great relief to the people in this inflation,” he had said.

Back in Jaipur, BJP in-charge for Rajasthan Arun Singh said heinous cases of rape and murder of minor girls have taken place in Rajasthan but top Congress leaders, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka and Rahul, have maintained silence over the outrage.

“Such heinous crimes have taken place only in Rajasthan. If there is jungle raj anywhere in the country, it is in Rajasthan,” Singh told a press conference at the BJP party office in Jaipur.

He said that Priyanka should visit the families of rape victims during her visit to Rajasthan to show her solidarity with them, adding that when such crimes occurred in the BJP-ruled states she went there to show solidarity with the victims’ families.