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VVIPs scramble to get on banquet lists

George Iype in New Delhi

Ministers, members of Parliament, bureaucrats, businessmen, diplomats and lobbyists are jostling for invitations to a power lunch and a national banquet to be hosted on Tuesday by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President K R Narayanan, respectively, for United States President Bill Clinton.

But seats for the two high-profile events in the capital are extremely limited and so ministers, including senior Cabinet members, are miffed that they will miss the opportunity of shaking hands with Clinton.

US security officials have finally cleared Vajpayee's lunch for Clinton on Tuesday at the government-owned Ashoka Hotel, near the US embassy, for a guest list of just 150.

Though the prime minister wanted his Council of Ministers and senior Bharatiya Janata Party politicians to join in, the Americans declined the request indirectly, suggesting that 70 ministers could mar the spirit of Clinton feasting with Vajpayee. Even BJP president Shashikant 'Kushabhau' Thakre is believed to have been excluded.

The invitees now include some 20 ministers, a thirty-member American team led by Clinton, a few special invitees like Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi, four former prime ministers, diplomats, security experts and a large contingent of Indian businessmen and US-based non-resident Indian businessmen.

"The lunch is being planned as an event at which Indian businessmen and Indian-American businessmen meet and interact with the US team. Ministers and politicians will be of little relevance there," commented an official in charge of the programme.

But a few ministers who have been wrangling for invitations to the lunch are said to have complained to Vajpayee about their exclusion, terming it 'discrimination'.

Similarly, Rashtrapati Bhavan has sent out just 100 invitations for Narayanan's banquet on Tuesday night. Generally about 400 people attend whenever the President hosts a banquet for a head of state. But officials said strict instructions from the US Secret Service have forced Rashtrapati Bhavan to restrict the number of invitees.

"We have carefully picked 100 people for the dinner. They will include representatives from all walks of life. It will be a slice of India," an official at Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

Clinton is expected to bring a team of at least 25 of his top officials to attend the presidential banquet.

From the Indian government's side, Prime Minister Vajpayee and his senior Cabinet colleagues like Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Defence Minister George Fernandes and Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha will attend the banquet.

A few senior opposition leaders led by Gandhi, the three defence chiefs and the four former prime ministers will also be there.

Diplomats stationed in New Delhi -- whom the President generally invites for banquets -- are not on the list this time. Instead, Narayanan has invited a number of prominent personalities from culture, films, arts, sports and education. Thus cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, painter M F Husain, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and chess champion Vishwanathan Anand will shake hands and share a few words with Clinton.

CLINTON VISITS INDIA : The complete coverage

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