New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi gearing up to play host as Congress has decided to hold Iftar on June 13 after a gap of two years, this will be the first occasion to host an Iftar since he took charge as the Congress chief.
The Congress party did not hold Iftar during the past two years and its last Iftar was in 2015. The then Congress president Sonia Gandhi had hosted the feast at that time.
Iftar marks the customary breaking of the daylong fast in the holy month of Ramadan. Congress conventionally invites leaders of all faiths to the event as also top diplomats.
Political experts see this year’s iftar to be a show of unity among opposition leaders as the Congress is positioning itself as the centre of opposition unity ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The party’s decision to resume Iftar comes days after President Ram Nath Kovind decided to discontinue the feast traditionally held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Prior to 2016, the Congress used to host Iftar in one way or the other. When the party was in power, the then prime minister Manmohan Singh used to organise the event. In opposition former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi played host until the party decided to skip the event in 2016 and 2017.
Siasat Web Team