Chandigarh, October 6
VIP guests, including Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and office-bearers of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), have started arriving in City Beautiful for participating in the two-day conclave of the Congress-ruled Chief Ministers, which will open here tomorrow.
However, VVIP guests, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the AICC President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, will reach here tomorrow. The conclave will focus on the implementation of the party manifestoes, particularly in regard to the social sectors like education and health in the party-ruled states. The AICC General Secretary, Ms Ambika Soni, has already ruled out the possibility of any discussion on bilateral issues between various states.
The VIP guests were received by Cabinet Ministers of Punjab and Haryana individually.
The conclave, which is the sixth of the series, and is being held after about three years, will be inaugurated by Ms Gandhi at 8 am. Her address will be telecast live.
Among the Chief Ministers who have already reached here Mr Tarun Gogoi (Assam), Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh (Maharashtra), Mr Oommen Chandy(Kerala), Mr Okram Ibobi Singh(Manipur) and Mr N. Dharam Singh(Karnataka).
Among the AICC office-bearers, who have made to Chandigarh, are Ms Soni, Mr A.K. Antony and Mr Digvijay Singh. The Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, has also reached here.
The AICC General Secretary in charge of Haryana, Mr Janardan Diwedi, was received by the Haryana Excise and Taxation Minister, Mr Venod Sharma.
Dr Manmohan Singh will miss the major part of tomorrow’s proceedings. He will reach here around 10 pm tomorrow, say informed sources. He will address the conclave on the concluding day on October 8. Ms Gandhi will reach here at 7.55 am tomorrow.
While Maharani Praneet Kaur, wife of the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, will escort Ms Gandhi, the State Finance Minister, Mr Surinder Singla, will perform this duty for the Prime Minister.
The conclave will be held at
