His wife Akshata Murty also joined Rishi Sunak and members of the Hindu community at Downing Street for the Diwali celebration.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the UK Prime Minister’s office wrote, “Tonight Prime Minister @RishiSunak welcomed guests from the Hindu community to Downing Street ahead of #Diwali – a celebration of the triumph of light over darkness.”

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The visuals showed that Downing Street was enlightened by diyas and colorful lights. A large number of people had joined the celebration.

“Shubh Diwali to everyone across the UK and around the world,” the post further read.

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights which symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil. This year, Diwali will be celebrated on November 12.

With roots in Punjab, Sunak is a devout Hindu who frequently visits the Southampton temple where he was born. In the renowned Akshardham Temple in New Delhi, the couple said prayers during their recent visit to India for the G20 Summit.

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“I am a proud Hindu. That’s how I was raised, that’s how I am. We just had Rakshabandhan, so from my sister and my cousin, I have all my Rakhis,” Rishi Sunak had earlier said.

Meanwhile, US Vice President Kamala Harris also celebrated Diwali at her official residence during which she told the guests that it’s important to celebrate this festival of light as the world today is facing a “difficult and dark moment” in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas.

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Harris, who is of Indian origin, celebrated early Diwali on Tuesday at her residence.

“We celebrate Diwali at a time when there’s a lot happening in our world. I think it’s important that as we celebrate Diwali, which is about celebrating the light, we understand it is always in the context of understanding the contrast between light and dark moments,” 59-year-old Harris said in her brief remarks.

“There is certainly a difficult and dark moment that we are facing in our world in a number of ways, but in particular seeing the images in the reports coming out of Israel and Gaza. And I know for all of us, and certainly for me and for Doug (her husband), it’s devastating and heartbreaking,” she added.

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Updated: 09 Nov 2023, 10:36 AM IST