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This is an archive article published on November 24, 2006

On Dec 1, MPs to get AIDS class from stars

If you thought celebrity endorsements were only meant to draw the interest of the unlettered, think again. For on December 18212;World AIDS Day8212;the country8217;s lawmakers will rub shoulders with stars spreading awareness about the dreaded disease.

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If you thought celebrity endorsements were only meant to draw the interest of the unlettered, think again. For on December 18212;World AIDS Day8212;the country8217;s lawmakers will rub shoulders with stars spreading awareness about the dreaded disease.

Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai and John Abraham, cricketer Sourav Ganguly and tennis sensation Sania Mirza will join MPs for breakfast at the Parliament Library that day8212;and the conversation will be less chit-chat, more a discussion on AIDS.

J D Seelam, Congress MP and core group member of the Parliamentarian8217;s Forum on HIV/AIDS, said this was an attempt to 8220;raise awareness among the MPs so that they can spread the word around8221;. Seelam said a recent survey indicated high levels of ignorance about the disease among the MPs.

The Forum is a UNAID-sponsored programme, with Union minister Oscar Fernandes as its convener. It has been spreading awareness about AIDS for the past six years8212;unfortunately it seems it hasn8217;t been entirely successful as far as MPs are concerned. Hence the celebrity route.

Apart from the celebrities, political heavyweights will also be attending the breakfast. They will include President APJ Abdul Kalam, Vice-President B S Shekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.

 

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