Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party leaders called on US President Barack Obama at ITC Maurya. The Congress delegation, which also included party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and former Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, met Obama and his wife Michelle where they are staying.
There was, however, no immediate word on what transpired in the meeting of the Congress delegation with Obama. Rahul had not been able to attend the banquet hosted in the honour of Obama by the President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday.
The meeting took place for about half an hour after Obama attended the Republic Day parade. This meeting with Congress party leaders was not initially on President Obama’s agenda. But it has been customary for US leaders, including the President, to meet leaders of the Opposition parties during their India trip. The White House on Sunday had not released the names of the Congress leaders who would be meeting Obama.
The main Opposition party on Sunday had reacted cautiously to the “breakthrough” in the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement, saying it would have to see the fine print on whether Prime Minister has addressed issues raised by the US within India’s legal framework and sought details as to how the difficulties were overcome. The party also sought to take credit for having initiated the deal when it was leading the Government at the Centre at a time when BJP had opposed the move tooth and nail.
During his last visit to India in November, 2010, Obama and his wife Michelle were received at the airport by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur. The Indian Prime Minister receiving the US head of State at airport is a reflection of the importance India attaches to its strategic ties with the global super power.
A similar Congress delegation had also met Chinese President Xi Jinping during his India visit in September last year. Sonia had then told the Chinese President that even though Congress is in Opposition, it remains committed to the strengthening of bilateral ties with China as it did when it was in Government.