With 48 hrs to go, red carpet ready for Clinton bandwagon

With 48 hrs to go, red carpet ready for Clinton bandwagon
JYOTI MALHOTRA & SAURABH SHUKLA

NEW DELHI, MARCH 17: Some confusion and lots of colour reign 48 hours before the Clinton êIbaraatêR descends on Delhi. It now seems the Capital's getting a three-hour reprieve, with the Presidential entourage said to be arriving three hours late (at 8 pm) at Palam airport on March 19.

Air Force One will be escorted into Delhi just as it crosses over the international border into Indian airspace by IAF jets flying in formation some 2,000 metres apart. Here at Palam the red carpet will be waiting, with Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Panja at its head. He has been selected for the honour of the first handshake -- probably after chief of protocol Manbir Singh -- with William Jefferson on Indian soil. From the airport he will escort him to Maurya Sheraton Hotel.

At long last, the imbroglio over passes for the US media to attend the special session of Parliament on March 22 has been settled, with 53 passes having been allotted. Until yesterday, sources in Parliament said the Americans were demanding blank passes for the media, refusing to not only give names of the journalists but also their organisations. But Parliament House put its foot down, refusing to issue blank passes. Finally, the Americans gave the names.

Three planes carrying communication equipment have already arrived as have seven helicopters, presumably for the trip to Ranthambore National Park. One government source said nearly 40 planes were expected in all, since the 2000-strong delegation was likely to fly to all five cities across the country. Evidently, the five-day trip to India is Clinton's second longest journey abroad, only second to his nine-day visit to China.

Meanwhile, it has been finally confirmed that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Clinton will have a one-to-one meeting before they go in for delegation-level talks, and that the only other people to meet the US President will his counterpart, K R Narayanan, Home Minister L K Advani and Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh will have discussions with his counterpart, Madeleine Albright, over March 21-22.

Panja told The Indian Express that in the true spirit of Indian hospitality, the American guests will be served ``whatever they want to eat, although I would personally be happy if the President tries some ``macher jhol and bhat'' (fish curry and rice, typical Bengali food).''

Panja will also accompany Clinton to Rajghat, but otherwise there seems to be no minister-in-waiting for the US President to accompany him across India -- the rumour is that the President likes to work on his laptop and doesn't want anyone peering over it.

Truly, Clinton mania has overtaken not only the country but also sundry NRIs. Three, thick files in the MEA are full of requests to meet him, and both Rashtrapati Bhawan and the PMO have been inundated with requests for a seat at the lunch and banquet (only 100 seats). Between delegation-level talks on March 21, gastronomic diplomcy is the order of the day.

Vajpayee's lunch at the Ashok Hotel convention hall has an elaborate Indian menu, with the chefs having been instructed to prepare a spread mild enough to suit the President's taste buds, besides an array of Indian desserts like ``kesari rasmalai'' and ``kulfi.''

Chelsea may not go to Bangladesh, but apart from the fact that she's said to be crazy about ``kaali dal'' and ``baingan'' in its various forms, her separate programme in India is a dead secret.

Hyderabad House, usually the venue for VVIP lunches, will have to be content with the visitors and hosts signing agreements and MOUs. An elaborate shamiana has been erected here, and to ensure that the President keeps his cool, more than 50 airconditioners are being installed in the shamiana.