Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s trip to Colombo to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) remained undecided on Thursday, with opinion divided both within the Union Council of Ministers and the Congress Core Group – the party’s highest informal decision-making body.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is in favour of the Prime Minister going to Colombo but its Tamil Nadu unit met party president Rajnath Singh and wanted the party high command to urge upon Dr. Singh not to attend CHOGM.
The Union Cabinet which met on Thursday did not discuss the issue even informally, said government sources.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy told The Hindu that a decision could be expected around Sunday.
Though the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs also met after the regular Cabinet meeting, it is not clear whether the issue was taken up, even informally.
It may, however, come up at a meeting of the Congress Core Group that usually meets on Fridays.