Reportedly following at least two media reports which stated that it was china which has suggested Mamallapuram as the venue of the recently concluded informal Indo-China summit, the Ministry of External Affairs has clarified that it was Prime Minister narendra modi who chose the shore town for the two day event. Meanwhile Foreign Secretary vijay Gokhale, in response to a question from the media at the conclusion of the summit, said that Mamallapuram was chosen by india due to its rich heritage.
Furthermore reports had suggested that differences between PM modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, over the venue for the summit, cropped up as early as May. According to a report, New delhi had initially proposed varanasi as the venue for the summit, but it was later decided that the Lal Bahudar Shastri airport's runway was not large enough to fit Xi Jiniping's plane. Earlier on October 11, a report stated that it was actually china that selected Mamallapuram as the venue, and india reportedly immediately agreed to the suggestion.
Moreover the report quoted a source privy to a meeting among china experts and said that the current vice foreign minister Lou Zhaohui picked the temple town as he used to be a student of a Chinese scholar in Auroville, and was therefore aware of the historic importance and Chinese links of Mamallapuram. Perhaps the report created a flurry on social media, with several questioning why china would be allowed to take a call on the venue.
