The Hindu : National : Sonia cancels appointments with Cameron, Than Shwe

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National

Sonia cancels appointments with Cameron, Than Shwe

Special Correspondent

Sonia cited an unspecified ‘emergency'
Apparently neither Rahul nor Priyanka is in town

New Delhi: Apparently citing an unspecified ‘emergency,' Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday cancelled her scheduled meeting with visiting United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron. On Wednesday, her meeting with Myanmar military leader Senior General Than Shwe was also cancelled without explanation.

While most Congress leaders were tight-lipped about these cancellations, party sources were only willing to confirm that Ms. Gandhi was not in the Capital. Asked whether she was in the country or abroad, these sources said they had no further details on the subject.

Members of Mr. Cameron's team were also unable to meet party general-secretary and Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi, it is learnt. Apparently neither Mr. Gandhi nor his sister Priyanka Vadra are in town.

Indeed, the Congress president and Mr. Gandhi have not been sighted in Parliament, which opened on Monday, leading to questions being raised on Wednesday by Opposition MPs.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times of London quoted a senior British diplomat saying that the U.K. government had been given very clear assurances that the Gandhis were ‘unavoidably out of town for a compelling reason' and that they were ‘very sorry to miss the Prime Minister on this visit.' He added that there was “absolutely no question of a snub.”

In the same report, a British official said Ms. Gandhi was dealing with an unspecified ‘emergency.'

Mr. Cameron had met Ms. Gandhi and her son when he visited India in 2006, shortly after taking over as leader of the Conservative Party.

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