M A I N   N E W S

PM delays departure due to Babri verdict

Istanbul, September 19
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday delayed his departure for New York by one and a half hours as word of the judgment on the framing of charges in the Babri demolition case was received.

The Prime Minister’s cavalcade, which was heading towards the airport, turned around and went back to his hotel as word of the judgment issued by a special trial court in Rae Bareli came through.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders reportedly called the PM for advice on the verdict in which Deputy Prime Minister L.K.Advani was discharged, while charges were to be framed against Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and six others on October 10.

Officials of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), however, said that the Prime Minister was slated to go back to his hotel due to the heavy traffic before emplaning for New York.

However, well placed sources continued to maintain that the Prime Minister’s advice was needed on the Rae Bareli judgment, and it was this matter which took him back to the hotel. — ANI 

Vajpayee awake for 22 hours
Smita Prakash

New York, September 20
As Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee left Turkey’s commercial capital Istanbul on Friday at 3 p.m. local time, little did he or his entourage realise that they would be awake for 22 hours.

The flight from Istanbul to New York lasted 13 1/2 hours and crossed nine different countries. The ride into the city took over an hour, and this was followed by various dinner engagements for the Indian delegation, some of them hosted by the NRI community.

The Prime Minister, however, opted to have a private dinner with his family and close friends.

There were no official engagements slated for Friday or most of Saturday, giving time to the Prime Minister to spend some quality time with relatives and friends in New York and to indulge in his pet passion of writing some poetry.

Official sources here said Mr Vajpayee also spent some time speaking to senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who submitted his resignation on Friday after he was charged with colluding in the demolition of the Babri Mosque on December 6, 1992. Vajpayee also talked to other BJP leaders to get their views on the developments at home in the wake of the special court’s verdict.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister is scheduled to attend several functions for the Indian community in New York and New Jersey. Sources said that people from the west coast and places like Chicago were flying in to participate in the functions, which could also see the Prime Minister indulging in some poetry recitations. — ANI