Double whammy for Cong within a week
14 Dec 2013 5:48 AM IST
It’s a double whammy for Congress leadership within a week – first, the electoral rout in four Hindi belt states and then, almost immediately, the impromptu cancellation of the biggest year-end bilateral event with Japan at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, in the national capital region causing the government and the nation the biggest embarrassment before a battery of top Japanese corporations and officials, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was scheduled to inaugurate the India Japan Global Partnership Summit through a video address on 15 December. The programme schedule listed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a keynote speaker.
The last moment cancellation of the Summit has come as a big shock to high profile participants from both the countries as well as those from other parts of the world, who confirmed their presence. Luxury hotels in Delhi and Noida, which are fully booked for the four-day event, international airlines, travel agents and logistics providers are at their wit’s end to cope with the business loss and chaos since preparations for global partnership summits of such magnitude take month to ensure perfect arrangement and hospitality.
India Center Foundation, the initiator of the Summit, co-organised by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Uttar Pradesh government, the official host and partner state, are tight-lipped about what prompted the sudden cancellation of the mega event partnered by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Bombay Stock Exchange, Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and JTB Corporation. The summit was supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japanese ministry of foreign affairs and Japan Tourism Agency among others. Unconfirmed sources say ‘lack of co-operation’ from the UP government led to the ‘postponement’ of the event.
The Summit was timed between the two most high-profile visits from Japan – Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko – earlier this month and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is scheduled to arrive on 24 January. Union industry and commerce minister Anand Sharma and Reliance supremo Mukesh Ambani actively supported the Summit. Others rendering support to the event and confirmed participation included information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari, former Nepal prime minister Madhav Kumar, Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma, London-based NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, Essar CEO Prashant Ruia.
The partnership summit was supposed to highlight cooperation and dialogues on smart knowledge and agricultural corridor, healthcare, urban development, banking and finance, renewable energy, high speed railways, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, sustainable development, education and skill development among others.
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