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India not to accord 'warm welcome' to Clinton

NEW DELHI: The Indian government has decided to accord ceremonial reception with no, "warm gestures," to the US President Bill Clinton during his visit to India primarily because of his decision to include Pakistan in his South Asian trip, The Asian Age newspaper reported on Thursday.

President Clinton will be received at the airport on his arrival on March 19 by Minister of State Ajit Panja, the paper said.

"An initial proposal of India that the Prime Minister would do the honours as an indication of the growing bonhomie between the two countries was shot down by the Prime Minister's Office after President Clinton's decision to visit Islamabad was announced".

President Clinton will now be accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan Delhi when he begins his official visit on March 21.

"The language from Washington has become harsh with non-proliferation and Kashmir being kept on top of the presidential agenda by not just President Clinton but his senior officials, including US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright," the daily said.

According to the report, President Clinton's decision to visit Pakistan, despite intense lobbying by the Indian foreign office, "has acted as a dampener on Indian enthusiasm".

"The diplomatic gestures that are reserved for "good friends" will be missing with the government now taking recourse to well aid out protocol rules for the long awaited and much campaigned for visit".

The paper said "the visiting US President will be treated by protocol here as both a head of state and head of government. He will call upon President K R Narayanan as a head of state, and attend a banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan in his honour.

"This will be his only interaction with President Narayanan during his five-day stay in India".

As head of government, President Clinton will reach Hyderabad House for a meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

This will be followed by delegation-level talks and then a lunch hosted by Vajpayee for President Clinton at Ashoka Hotel.

"Interestingly, the fate of the "state of vision" speech by President Clinton is not known," the paper said.

The White House has indicated that this joint communique should be signed by the US President and the Indian President as heads of state. "This was contested by the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) and foreign office, who insisted that the co-signatory should be the Prime Minister as the head of government".

The report said the controversy has not been worked out and as a way out the signatories to the "state of vision" address might be reduced to the level of the US Secretary of State and Indian Minister of External Affairs.ÑAPP