Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar expressed his disapproval of world leaders at the G20 Summit being provided with meals served on customized silverware and utensils plated with gold.
Such events were held in India twice earlier, once when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister, and world leaders had come to participate. But I never heard of silverware and gold-plated utensils being used (for the delegates), Sharad Pawar said.
Talking to reporters after a meeting of his NCP in south Mumbai, Sharad Pawar said, I agree that the world leaders who come to India need to be shown respect as it is important for the country, but it is wrong to misuse such events to sideline important issues and boost stature of some people.
The 82-year-old leader remarked that the citizens of the country will engage in discussions and develop opinions on the appropriateness of using such occasions to enhance one's image.