MEA Rejects Claims Linking Leaders’ Illness to BRICS Summit
Ministry rejects social-media posts linking leaders’ health to Delhi summit
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday rejected as “fake and misleading” social-media posts claiming that several heads of state who attended the BRICS Summit had fallen ill because of the event held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.
“Misleading! We caution against such malicious posts on social-media platforms,” the MEA said in a fact-check posted on X.
The posts began circulating after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was advised to rest because of ill health shortly after returning home from the summit.
“The Presidency wishes to advise that, due to ill health, President Cyril Ramaphosa is currently booked off from public engagements,” the South African government said in a statement on Thursday.
“President Ramaphosa, who returned from the BRICS Summit in India on Monday, has been advised by his medical team to rest and recover. Where possible, the President has asked the respective ministers to represent him at scheduled public engagements,” it added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping had skipped the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on September 12 and returned to his hotel to rest.
Reports suggested that he may have been exhausted after travelling from Beijing to New Delhi and immediately attending summit sessions and a bilateral meeting with Modi. Xi, however, attended the BRICS Summit sessions on both days before returning to Beijing.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday described the summit as a “major success”, saying India had secured consensus among the 11 member states even “on the most contentious of issues”.
Jaiswal said 32 delegations participated in the summit, including representatives of 11 member states, 10 partner countries, four regional organisations and seven international organisations.
BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, along with the newer members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. All 11 members attended the summit.
The partner countries represented were Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
