He didn’t want to be the co-chief guest !

A group of civil society leaders including some prominent academics and intellectuals had recently organized a commemorative ceremony in honour of the revered Indian national leader Mahatma Gandhi.
They had invited the Yahapalanaya Top Two to grace the occasion as the chief guests. The issuance of a commemorative stamp to honour the great leader too had been arranged for the occasion.
The Top Two had readily accepted the invitation. However, one of them had a few days later informed the organizers of the inability to attend the function giving no reason.
The highly disconcerted organizers had made indiscreet inquiries as to why one of them declined to attend the function. And they had learnt that he had confided the reason to his intimates: Why should I attend this function if the other leader too is attending it as a chief guest?
Now that they knew the reason, they found a solution to get both leaders to attend the event. They had organized two separate functions on the same day to mark the same event. And while one of the Top Two attended one function as the chief guest, the other attended the other function in the same capacity!
Those who are in the know of this story pose the question:  How can two leaders unwilling to appear on the same stage together, rule a country together?