Questioning the intentions of environmentalists who opposed the World Culture Festival, union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said the criticism was the craving of "some people's negative thinking".
"How could an organisation that's working towards the well-being of mankind and nature, even think of harming the environment. It's just the craving of some negative thinkers," Sharma said addressing the gathering at the World Culture Festival.
"I pray that those negative thinkers would today leave their negativity behind."
Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan said: "We had been talking of unity and diversity in India, now we can talk of unity and diversity in the context of the world."
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan greeted the gathering by saying "Namaskar to the Global Family".
