The ‘At Home’ hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday evening, as part of his annual ‘South Sojourn’, was a colourful affair with the massive expanse of Rashtrapathi Nilayam lit up like never before.
As a light breeze brought with it a noticeable, wintry chill, the President walked into the lawn at about 5.30 p.m. and met the guests. He went around greeting scores of prominent people who stood in line, holding their engraved invitation cards with a hint of pride at being invited to meet the First Citizen of India, as Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao followed closely behind.
As soon as he made his appearance, Mr. Mukherjee inspected an impressive guard of honour and accepted the salute, after which the national anthem was played. Later, the President, Chairman of the Telangana Legislative Council, K. Swamy Goud, Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao and Union Minister of State for Labour B. Dattatreya spent a while enjoying high tea in a separate enclosure. Prominent among those who attended the ‘At Home’ were Ministers Naini Narsimha Reddy (Home), Etala Rajender (Finance) and A. Indrakaran Reddy (Endowments), BJP Telangana State president K. Laxman and TDP State president L. Ramana.
The Congress contingent was represented among others by Floor Leader of the Congress in Legislative Assembly K. Jana Reddy, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and J. Geeta Reddy.
