Despite the insistence of ministry of external affairs to attend the meet, Singh is most likely to skip the meet, sources said.
External affairs minister Salman Khurshid had told Millennium Post on Friday that he was trying to persuade the PM to go for the meet. Khurshid had clearly told us he would be attending the meet but the decision on whether the PM would go was yet to be taken. With Singh deciding to skip the meet, Khurshid will now head the Indian delegation at CHOGM.
‘If I am supporting our participation in CHOGM and trying to persuade PM to attend the meet, I must be doing it because that is my understanding of national interest. If my colleagues are opposing it, it is either their understanding of national interest or their local concern ... The only decision is that I am going, and a decision for the PM to go or not will be taken,’ Khurshid had said.
The Tamil Nadu political parties and the Congress leaders from the state have been pressuring the PM not to visit Colombo. DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Saturday expressed relief after the Centre decided that Manmohan Singh will not go to Colombo. Karunanidhi, however, said Khurshid’s participation in the event was debateable.
Party chief Karunanidhi had constantly been appealing to Singh to boycott CHOGM. ‘The prime minister has a conscience... I did not threaten on withdrawing support. It’s been a long time since we withdrew our support,’ Karunanidhi had said. The decision on Singh skipping the meet will be communicated to the Lankan government by Sunday, sources said. ‘The prime minister is likely to write to Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa by Sunday regarding his decision,’ said sources in the government.
An announcement of the decision is likely after the prime minister calls the CCPA meet on Sunday or Monday. However, there was no official announcement on Saturday over Singh’s decision to skip the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit being held on 15-16 November. On Saturday, when asked if vice-president Hamid Ansari will represent India at the meet in place of Singh, MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin did not give a direct reply.
He, however, said in 10 summit level meetings since 1993, the PM represented India five times while on four occasions other ministers had headed the Indian delegation. There was one instance of the vice-president representing India.
External affairs minister Salman Khurshid had told Millennium Post on Friday that he was trying to persuade the PM to go for the meet. Khurshid had clearly told us he would be attending the meet but the decision on whether the PM would go was yet to be taken. With Singh deciding to skip the meet, Khurshid will now head the Indian delegation at CHOGM.
‘If I am supporting our participation in CHOGM and trying to persuade PM to attend the meet, I must be doing it because that is my understanding of national interest. If my colleagues are opposing it, it is either their understanding of national interest or their local concern ... The only decision is that I am going, and a decision for the PM to go or not will be taken,’ Khurshid had said.
The Tamil Nadu political parties and the Congress leaders from the state have been pressuring the PM not to visit Colombo. DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Saturday expressed relief after the Centre decided that Manmohan Singh will not go to Colombo. Karunanidhi, however, said Khurshid’s participation in the event was debateable.
Party chief Karunanidhi had constantly been appealing to Singh to boycott CHOGM. ‘The prime minister has a conscience... I did not threaten on withdrawing support. It’s been a long time since we withdrew our support,’ Karunanidhi had said. The decision on Singh skipping the meet will be communicated to the Lankan government by Sunday, sources said. ‘The prime minister is likely to write to Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa by Sunday regarding his decision,’ said sources in the government.
An announcement of the decision is likely after the prime minister calls the CCPA meet on Sunday or Monday. However, there was no official announcement on Saturday over Singh’s decision to skip the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit being held on 15-16 November. On Saturday, when asked if vice-president Hamid Ansari will represent India at the meet in place of Singh, MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin did not give a direct reply.
He, however, said in 10 summit level meetings since 1993, the PM represented India five times while on four occasions other ministers had headed the Indian delegation. There was one instance of the vice-president representing India.