BRICS Summit in India Faces Fresh Controversy After Ramaphosa Illness and Xi’s Early Departure

NEW DELHI: India’s hosting of the BRICS summit has come under renewed scrutiny following reports that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was taken off public engagements after returning from New Delhi, while Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped the summit’s gala dinner and returned to his hotel before subsequently leaving India.

The developments have sparked questions on social media and in international media about arrangements surrounding the summit. However, claims that the leaders became ill specifically because of food or air quality in New Delhi have not been established.

The South African Presidency officially announced that Ramaphosa had been booked off from public engagements due to ill health after returning from the BRICS summit in India.

His medical team advised him to rest and recover, although the Presidency did not disclose the nature of his illness.

The development attracted attention because Ramaphosa had returned from New Delhi only a short time earlier.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also attracted attention during the summit after skipping a gala dinner hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Indian and international media reported that Xi did not attend the dinner after participating in summit proceedings and meeting Modi earlier in the day. Sources cited by regional media said he had returned to his hotel to rest.

The Independent later reported that Xi’s early departure from India triggered speculation about his health, although there was no confirmed public diagnosis explaining his absence.

The summit’s gala dinner also became the subject of controversy after an all-vegetarian menu was served to visiting leaders.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pointed out that a large proportion of Indians consume non-vegetarian food, while BJP leaders defended the menu as a showcase of India’s regional vegetarian cuisine.

The menu controversy added to criticism of the arrangements around the summit, although there is no verified evidence connecting the vegetarian dinner to Ramaphosa’s illness.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs has rejected social-media claims suggesting that Xi Jinping and Cyril Ramaphosa fell ill because of the BRICS summit, describing such claims as fake and misleading.

At the same time, South Africa’s own presidency confirmed Ramaphosa’s illness and his withdrawal from public duties, without attributing it to his visit to India.

This distinction is important: the illness itself is officially confirmed in Ramaphosa’s case, while any claim that it was caused by food, pollution or summit arrangements remains unverified.

The reports have nevertheless generated renewed discussion about India’s ability to manage the logistical and diplomatic demands of hosting major international gatherings.

The BRICS summit itself brought together leaders from major emerging economies, and India received extensive international attention for hosting the expanded grouping in New Delhi. The Independent reported that the summit also faced logistical pressures, while security restrictions caused major traffic disruption for residents of the capital.

The combination of traffic restrictions, controversy over the dinner menu, Ramaphosa’s confirmed illness and questions surrounding Xi’s early departure has given critics further material to scrutinise India’s organisation of the summit.

However, there is currently no established evidence that poor food or air pollution caused illness among the visiting leaders.

The developments remain closely watched because international leaders are frequently assessed not only on the diplomatic outcomes of such summits but also on the effectiveness of their host country’s security, logistics and hospitality arrangements.