Rahul Gandhi hosts Iftar: Pratibha Patil, Pranab Mukherjee, Hamid Ansari in attendance
Updated: June 13, 2018 10:19:53 pm- 1 / 11
Congress President Rahul Gandhi hosted an Iftar on Tuesday for the first time, which saw the presence of former presidents Pranab Mukherjee and Pratibha Patil, ex-vice president Hamid Ansari. Gandhi had extended invitation to a host of opposition and senior party leaders to the Iftar. (Source: AICC)
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The party did not hold Iftar, which marks the customary breaking of the day-long fast in the holy month of Ramzan, 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. (Source: AICC)
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The party's decision to resume Iftar comes days after President Ram Nath Kovind decided to discontinue the feast traditionally held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. (Source: AICC)
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The resumption of Iftar comes at a time when the Congress is seen to be pursuing a policy of soft Hindutva as evidenced in Rahul Gandhi's several recent temple visits. (Source: AICC)
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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. (Source: AICC)
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Senior Congres leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Jairam Ramesh were also present at the event. (Source: Express photo by Ravish Tiwari)
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Rahul Gandhi greets diplomats at the Iftar party organised by him on Tuesday. (Source: AICC)
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Meanwhile, BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Smriti Irani, Harsh Vardhan, Prakash Javadekar attended Iftar organised by Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. (Express photo/Abantika Ghosh)
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"It was so assuring to see large number of Muslim women demanding justice from unconstitutional practice of triple Talaq who repeatedly asked me to get the law regarding this passed soon," Prasad wrote on Twitter. (Source: Twitter/Ravi Shankar Prasad)
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Naqvi had announced an Iftar party a day after the Congress said it would host a fast-breaking meal on Wednesday. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)
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Attended by more than 300 Muslim women, including a few who were given tripla talaq, Naqvi’s Iftar certainly attracted a lot of media attention. (Express photo by Renuka Puri)