Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna attended President Donald Trump’s Oval Office Diwali gathering Friday, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported, adding two technology executives to a celebration with Indian-American leaders and senior officials.
PTI named India’s Ambassador to the United States Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, FBI Director Kash Patel and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya among those present. Its guest list combined senior U.S. officials and business leaders with Indian officials and community figures.
The report also listed Social Security Administration Deputy Commissioner Arjun Mody, Ruby Dhalla, Rajiv Sharma, Viswajith Mallampati, Hetalkumar Patel, White House events usher Arvind Chadha and chef Vikas Khanna. PTI said Trump began the gathering by lighting a diya.
GOQii founder Vishal Gondal shared photos of the gathering and said in a post that he gave Trump a copy of the Hanuman Chalisa. EconoTimes previously covered Gondal’s account of the Oval Office gathering.
A White House schedule preserved in an archive listed the Oval Office celebration for 1:30 p.m. EST (18:30 UTC) on Friday, Nov. 6, and indicated that reporters could not attend. Gondal’s post and PTI’s report provided accounts of the gathering after it took place.
The Association of Indians in America dates the first White House Diwali event to 2003. An Obama White House archive records Barack Obama’s participation in 2009 as the first time a president joined a Diwali observance at the White House.
