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HOME | SPECIALS | CLINTON VISITS INDIA |
March 22, 2000
NEWSLINKS
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UP CM to welcome Clinton in HindiSharat Pradhan in Lucknow Overruling the Blue Book, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta and Governor Suraj Bhan have decided to receive US President Bill Clinton on his arrival at Agra airport later in the day today. In yet another departure from the tradition, the chief minister would deliver his two-minute welcome speech in Hindi. "Our national language is our national pride, so it was in the fitness of things that the chief minister speaks in Hindi. The bureaucrats have prepared his speech both in Hindi and English and it had been left to Gupta to take the final decision," said sources. It was a big win for the UP government to have managed a seat for the chief minister on the podium when Clinton arrives at the Taj Khema hotel to address a global meet on environment. To be held against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal, the meet was aimed at highlighting United States's concern for environment. Besides, the only other thing on his agenda in Agra was to visit the 17th century architectural wonder, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jehan. However, as per the earlier schedule, the UP chief minister and governor were to be seated only among the 300 audience invited by the US officials. Their presence at Clinton's arrival in Agra was also heavily debated. Since protocol clearly lays down that a state's chief minister and governor were required to receive a visiting head of state or government only in the state capital and not in any other city, where the divisional commissioner was to perform the ritual, both Gupta and Bhan were unable to take a decision. Their names had been included in the list of invitees for the environment meet only after UP government's frantic efforts, otherwise they had been completely ignored by the US organisers of the meet. As many as 38 eminent personalities from different walks of life had been invited for the meet from Uttar Pradesh. Among them, only a few were being a given the rare privilege for a personal audience with Clinton. Prominent among them was well-known Hindi film-maker Muzaffar Ali, who had prepared a three-minute memorandum for the US President. Interestingly, Ali has urged Clinton to initiate steps for removing the longstanding barriers between India and Pakistan. The film-maker, who left for Agra yesterday, also proposes to present Clinton with some exquisite pieces of Lucknow's famous chikan embroidery work. Even though UP had failed to persuade US officials to let Clinton spend the night in Agra so that he could have the rare privilege of viewing Taj Mahal by moonlight, UP Tourism officials were leaving no stone unturned to use Clinton's Agra visit as a major plank to sell Uttar Pradesh as India's key tourist destinations. Even as there was much excitement in official circles in Agra over the presidential visit, some leftist organisations have threatened to wave black flags and burn effigies of the US president in protest against his visit. CLINTON VISITS INDIA : The complete coverage
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