Kalam goes to Race Course Rd for lunch

Setting aside protocol, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam today drove down from Raisina Hills to Race Course Road to attend a lunch hosted by PM ...

Setting aside protocol, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam today drove down from Raisina Hills to Race Course Road to attend a lunch hosted by PM A.B. Vajpayee.

Also present were Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Deputy PM L.K. Advani, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan, and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah.

Former President R. Venkataraman too attended the luncheon reception but his successor K.R. Narayanan and other former PMs could not make it, PMO sources said. South Indian cuisine was the major attraction keeping in view Kalam’s taste, sources said.

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This is the first time President Kalam has attended a lunch at the PM’s house. ‘‘There is nothing unusual in the President accepting a luncheon invitation at the PM’s home,’’Mahajan said.

The Prime Minister is leaving tomorrow on a weeklong tour of Cyprus, Denmark and Britain where the ongoing Indo-Pak standoff, J-K elections and the evolving Iraq situation are expected to figure prominently during talks. He will also attend the third India-EU summit in Copenhagen. The PM’s first halt will be Nicosia in Cyprus.

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