Cong can’t stomach Kalam’s lunch at Vajpayee residence

The Congress today expressed its stern displeasure over President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam attending the lunch hosted yesterday by Prime Minister ...

The Congress today expressed its stern displeasure over President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam attending the lunch hosted yesterday by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, taking the position that the two Constitutional bodies had no reason to meet informally without any ‘‘occasion or provocation’’.

There was no precedence for such a meet and it was not a healthy practice, Congress spokesperson Jaipal Reddy said. While insisting that the party held Kalam ‘‘in the highest esteem’’ and was in no way casting aspersions on him, Reddy shied from answering two queries: what prompted Kalam to say yes to the invitation and why he didn’t say no to it.Had Kalam declined the invitation, Reddy said, it would have been misinterpreted.

When pointed out that perhaps Kalam himself didn’t have any objection in attending the lunch, Reddy replied that ‘‘the PM, by extending the invitation, left the President with no option.’’ And added, in the same breath, ‘‘the lunch could have been held at Hyderabad House. Our objection is not to the menu but to the venue.’’

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He brushed aside the suggestion that their party was perturbed over Sonia Gandhi not being invited. ‘‘We are not worried about the guest list. It is the PM’s prerogative and we are not keen to get into his exclusive club,’’ Reddy quipped.

‘‘In our view,’’ he added, ‘‘it is not a case of welcome breach of protocol or convention. The PM, in the first place, should not have extended an invitation to the President without any special occasion.’’ Under the constitution, the distinction between the posts of President and PM was subtle but crucial, he held, adding, ‘‘this kind of familiarity sans formality between the two highest constitutional functionaries should not be encouraged or repeated.’’

‘‘Please do not put loaded questions in my mind,’’ was Reddy’s quick reply to a query whether Kalam was being reduced to a rubber stamp.

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