The Hindu : Rao writes to Sonia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 05, 2003

National

National

Rao writes to Sonia

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 4. The former Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, has written to the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, expressing his inability to attend the Shimla conclave of the party commencing on July 7.

In his letter, Mr. Rao is reported to have explained that he would not be able to attend the meeting since he has to undergo a check-up in Hyderabad on July 7. Apparently, Mr. Rao's U.S.-based personal physician will be in Hyderabad only for two days.

Ms. Sonia Gandhi had specially written to the former Prime Minister inviting him to the "mahanthan shivir" in Shimla.

Though Mr. Rao is rarely seen at party functions, he did make an appearance at the plenary session in Bangalore and at last year's AICC session in Delhi.

Ever since he demitted office, Mr. Rao has been keeping his own counsel. His public appearances, particularly at party functions, have been few and far between. He has studiously refused to comment on the affairs of the party. Even when he made an appearance, like the one at the Bangalore session, he refrained for addressing the gathering though he presented a paper on PSU disinvestment.

Some of the other special invitees are the former Foreign Secretary and vice-chairman of the AICC foreign affairs department, J.N. Dixit, Arjun Sen Gupta, Swaminadhan and R.K. Nayar. The party has invited nearly 275 delegates to the three-day introspection meet.

Apart from the members of the CWC, CEC and PAC office-bearers of the PCC, the AICC and the CLP have been invited. Some prominent young MPs, MLAs and a couple of block presidents too have been invited. "The idea is to cast the net wide and to involve as many people as possible," the AICC general secretary, Ambika Soni, said.

The largest contingent is predictably from Uttar Pradesh. The south Indian states are also adequately represented. Prominent among those who figure in the list of invitees from Tamil Nadu are Mani Shankar Aiyer, G.K. Vasan, S. Balakrishnan, S. Prabhu, S.R. Balasubramanyam, E.V.K. Elangovan, Jayanthi Natarajan, C.R. Keshavan and Peter Alphonse.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National