NEW DELHI: With India hosting the 18th Brics Summit this year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday took a swipe at the Centre over the practice of covering slum areas and poor neighbourhoods ahead of major international events, saying such measures do not change the reality on the ground.AAP shared a cartoon on X showing a mirror marked “Vision 2047”, with the reflection depicting a developed Delhi and Bharat Mandapam. Outside the frame, however, the cartoon shows a slum area, garbage and makeshift homes.“Covering slums with curtains won’t change the reality, just like calling 2.6% GDP Growth 7.8%,” the party said in its post.Delhi is hosting 18th Brics Summit on September 12 and 13, with leaders from the expanded grouping arriving in the national capital.The practice of putting up screens, green covers or other structures to block the view of slums and unauthorised settlements along prominent roads has drawn criticism in the past, particularly ahead of high-profile international events hosted in Delhi.Summit to kickstart tomorrowThe Brics summit will kickstart on Saturday, with a closed-door meeting of Brics member countries at 2.35 pm on “Inclusive Global Governance and Strengthening Multilateralism”. Leaders will then visit the Bharat Innovates Exhibition at 4.25 pm, followed by the official family photograph and a joint tree-planting ceremony at 5.05 pm.Brics, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with Indonesia joining in 2025. Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam became Brics partner countries last year.
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Brics emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade.