Union ministers and BJP CMs, including Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath, head to BRICS gala dinner in buses | Watch

Union ministers and chief ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party attended the BRICS gala dinner held on Saturday, the first day of the summit. All the ministers travelled to the venue of the event, Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, by bus.

A video showed Union ministers and CMs, including Amit Shah, Kiren Rijiju, Yogi Adityanath, Nirmala Sitharaman and Rekha Gupta, travelling by bus to Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was also seen travelling on the bus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the gala dinner for various world leaders on the opening day of the BRICS summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung are among the top leaders attending the summit.

Over 100 artists, mostly from India as well as other member countries of BRICS, are expected to perform at the BRICS gala dinner on Saturday, PTI news agency reported earlier. India is hosting the summit in New Delhi on September 12 and September 13.

“A large group of artistes -- classical dancers and musicians, largely from India -- as well as musicians from various other member countries of BRICS, will showcase 'BRICS Symphony' during the gala dinner that the prime minister will host for the invited leaders on September 12, the day the Summit opens, at the Bharat Mandapam,” PTI news agency cited a person familiar with the matter as saying. The size of the ensemble is expected to be around 160, with Indian dancers and musicians forming the core of the performance troupe.

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The duration of the show would be around 20-25 minutes, featuring classical dance forms like Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi and Kathak. The planned show is being helmed by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), the cultural arm of the ministry of external affairs, PTI cited the person as saying.

PM Modi and other world leaders had visited the Bharat Innovates Exhibition zone at the Bharat Mandapam complex earlier on Saturday evening, following which they planted trees on the lawns of the mega convention centre.

The arrival of partner country and outreach leaders is expected on Sunday, the second day of the summit, which will be followed by a family photograph at around 10.35 am.

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