- Wednesday, May 08, 2024
He also held a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit.
By: Shubham Ghosh
PRIME minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday (10) took a break from the G20 summit and went to Delhi’s Akshardham Temple with his wife Akshata Murty. The 43-year-old premier of Indian-origin reached the Indian capital on Friday (8) to take part in the summit and had a busy engagement at the summit on its inaugural day on Saturday (9).
He also held a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit where they spoke about trade and investment.
#WATCH | UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visits Delhi's Akshardham temple to offer prayers. pic.twitter.com/0ok7Aqv3J9
— ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2023
This is Sunak’s first official visit to India since he became the premier in October last year.
Security was beefed up in and around the temple for the high-profile visit by the power couple on a rain-wet morning.
After offering prayers at the temple where the duo were also seen doing ‘aarti’, Sunak and Murty, who wore a pink-and-mustard salwar suit, went to Rajghat, a memorial complex dedicated to India’s iconic freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi, to pay him homage. The prime minister and his wife were seen walking barefoot in the temple complex.
The prime minister, who said he was proud of his Hindu roots, on Friday expressed his hope of finding time to visit the temple. He also added that he and his wife Akshata have plans to visit some of their favourite restaurants in Delhi that they used to go to often.
“I’m a proud Hindu, and that’s how I was raised. That’s how I am. Hopefully, I can visit a mandir while I’m here for the next couple of days. We just had Raksha Bandhan, so from my sister and my cousins, I have all my rakhis, and I didn’t have time to celebrate Janmashtami properly the other day,” Sunak told news agency Asian News International.
Sunak and Murty were set to depart for the UK later on Sunday.
