Express Adda began the new year with not one but two very special guests, a couple who stand out for the ease with which they straddle the world of power politics at the Centre and the state.
Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, and Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister for Food Processing, were our guests at Express Adda, held at Indigo, One Golden Myle, New Delhi on 30th January 2016.
The discussion, moderated by Vandita Mishra, National Opinion Editor, The Indian Express and Maneesh Chhibber, National Bureau Chief, The Indian Express, saw the ministers deftly handling questions from a select audience, as they spoke about the drug crisis in Punjab, the terror attack in Pathankot, and their party – Shiromani Akali Dal’s poll-preparedness ahead of next year assembly elections. Comments on the FSSAI’s role; Mr Modi’s leadership style, and interesting political anecdotes from the couple made for a memorable evening.
The couple interacted and answered several questions from a select audience, which included policy makers, diplomats, intellectuals, corporate leaders and artists among others present in the audience.
Among the guests at the Adda were Rana Kapoor, Managing Director and CEO, YES BANK; Demetrios Theophylactou, High Commissioner of Cyprus to India; Jonathan Kessler, Director North India office US Embassy; Model Lakshmi Menon; MR Madhvan, President and Co-founder of PRS Legislative Research; Naresh Gujral, Rajyasabha MP and General Secretary, Shiromani Akali Dal; R K Singhal, Chief of Corporate Affairs, Steel Authority of Indian Ltd; Rajiv K Luthra, Founder & Managing Partner, Luthra & Luthra Law offices; Suhel Seth, Managing Partner, Counselage India; Tanya Shanti Spisbah, First Secretary Trade & Economics, Australian High Commission; US Embassy spokesperson Joseph Kruzich; Wouter Verhey. Agriculture Counsellor-India & Sri Lanka, Embassy of kingdom of the Netherlands along with other city matterati.
The Adda, now a keenly awaited fixture on the social calendar of Delhi and Mumbai, has earlier featured politicians Kapil Sibal and Arun Jaitley, superstars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, ambassadors Richard Verma, cutting edge filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee, sportspersons Saina Nehwal, Viswanathan Anand and Virat Kohli, and intellectuals Dr. Amartya Sen, Thomas Friedman, Martin Wolf and Fareed Zakaria among others.