PM cancels Malda visit

Singh was to take a flight to Purnea and then a helicopter to the Malda district headquarters. But fog had reduced visibility in Purnea, making it unsafe for air travel.

District Magistrate Sridhar Ghosh said he was officially intimated of the cancellation in the morning. 8220;There was no security threat. It was due to poor visibility at Purnea,8221; Ghosh said.

Singh, who attended the convocation ceremony at Santiniketan8217;s Visva-Bharati University on Saturday, was to visit the ancestral home of late Bengal Congressman ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury at the invitation of his brother, Congress parliamentarian Abu Hasan Khan Chowdhury.

The MP had earlier expressed his desire that Singh contest the upcoming general elections from the district, as it would give a much-needed boost to the party8217;s election hopes in the state.

Singh was originally scheduled to attend the foundation ceremony for a Centrally-funded Engineering and Technical Institute at Malda. But that had to be cancelled in view of the restrictions imposed by the model code of conduct. By-polls are to be held in the Sujapur Assembly Constituency on December 27.

Choudhury said he, his family and the party workers of the district were deeply disappointed by the cancellation of Singh8217;s visit. 8220;We had been getting ready for three weeks now,8221; he said.

Congress legislator Subrata Mukherjee said the cancellation was unfortunate. 8220;As you can well imagine, the party workers there must be crestfallen.8221;

In a meeting with the state Congress leaders, Singh had wanted the party8217;s state unit to play a bigger role in Lalgarh, where tribals have been at loggerheads with the administration.

8220;The Prime Minister said he would be sending a fact-finding team to Lalgarh which would include parliamentarians,8221; said Mukherjee. 8220;But there was no talk of change in the PCC presidentship. At the moment, we are waiting for state Congress chief Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi to regain his health,8221; he added.