The Id Milan hosted by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee this evening as a substitute for the customary Iftar turned out to be an insipid affair with only half the invitees showing up.There was hardly any representation from the prominent Muslim dargahs and mosques in the country, and of the top Muslim institutions, only the Vice Chancellor of Jamia Milia, Shahid Mehdi, could be spotted. The only section that came in full strength was the diplomatic one: ambassadors from Muslim countries, including the Acting Pakistani High Commissioner Jalil Ahmed Jilani, were seen.The PM’s spin doctors, who came up with the idea of an Id Milan party, claimed that they deliberately curtailed the usual Iftar guest list so that today’s function would be a small and sedate affair instead of the jamboree that is held every year. PMO aides said that around 500 invitations were sent out in comparison to the 1500 odd invitations that are usually issued for the PM’s Iftar. They explained that invitations for the function went out only a few days ago and many invitees had already made their plans for the three-day weekend break of Parliament. Given the last-minute arrangements, they did not expect more than a 50 per cent turnout.However, yesterday, there was a belated realisation that the Id Milan party was headed for a flop. What was originally meant to be an all-Muslim affair was hastily turned into a broader gathering with PM aides casting their net wider to invite more journalists and insist on the presence of PMO officials too.But the festive spirit of the occasion was already lost and some of the guests complained that they missed the biryani-korma-kebab feast that marks an Id Milan. Instead, there was fish amritsari, chicken tikkas, kebab rolls, jalebis, gulab jamuns and, in the only concession to the staple Id diet, sewayian. But there were not too many guests to savour this menu.In fact, when Vajpayee made his appearance, there were barely 50 guests present. And many of them were journalists. With the PM at a loose end waiting for his guests to turn up, the media had a field day throwing questions at him about Gujarat.Vajpayee looked quite relaxed as he deftly countered the queries to claim that the BJP would win the elections comfortably. He insisted that media reports about poor turnout at BJP rallies were exaggerated as were assessments that the party would fare poorly in its traditional stronghold of Saurashtra. ‘‘That’s not the impression I got when I went there yesterday,’’ he said.Apart from the thin turnout of prominent leaders from the Muslim community, the political presence at the function was also poor. Only half a dozen ministers showed up and a handful of Muslim MPs like actress Shabana Azmi and Noor Bano of the Congress. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was invited, was away in Gujarat today.Another departure from tradition was the presence of President Abdul Kalam and Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Former President K R Narayanan and former Prime Ministers Narasimha Rao and Chandra Shekhar were also present.
