President Mukherjee hosts Iftar

New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee Friday hosted an Iftar reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan that was attended by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, among others.

Among other dignitaries who attended the Iftar were Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and union ministers Sharad Pawar, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Vayalar Ravi. Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechuri was also present, besides other MPs and heads of diplomatic missions, senior officials, scholars, religious leaders and public figures from various walks of life, a statement said.

"The president mingled with the guests and exchanged Ramadan greetings with all invitees before inviting them to break their fast, offer prayers and then join for dinner," it added.