Vajpayee to ring in New Year in balmy Goa By P. Jayaram, Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has chosen the coastal paradise of Goa for a New Year holiday that officials said would be strictly a family affair. The prime minister will leave for an undisclosed "quiet beach resort" on Sunday and return to the capital on New Year day, a senior aide told IANS. He said Vajpayee had been flooded with requests from various state governments to spend his customary New Year holiday in their state. "One of the reasons is that having the prime minister as a guest has done a world of good to tourism in the state, especially the locations where he had spent the New Year in the past few years," the aide said. He noted that the prime minister's holiday at picturesque Kumarakom in Kerala, from where he penned his "musings" in December 2000, had made the place a famous tourist destination that has attracted a stream of celebrity visitors since. Among them were former Beatle Paul McCartney and actor Sean Connery, the "original" James Bond, who reportedly thoroughly enjoyed their holidays. The aide said Manali and Nainital, where the prime minister had spent holidays in the last two years, had also experienced a spurt in tourist arrivals. "People seem to think if the Indian prime minister considers a place worth spending a holiday at, it must be really good." He said only Vajpayee's foster family members and close personal staff would accompany him to Goa on the holiday. "There are no special arrangements being made, like setting up camp office or anything, in Goa as it is just a two-day holiday," the aide said, referring to the fact that Vajpayee would be at the resort effectively for two full days. The prime minister would, however, be kept informed about day-to-day developments by officials, he added. The holiday will be timely for Vajpayee as he has a hectic January ahead with his counterparts from Singapore and Mauritius and the president of Iran due to pay official visits to India and he himself scheduled to undertake a series of tours to the states. Vajpayee will hold talks with Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong January 4-5 and with Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth January 8-9. Iranian President Mohammed Khatami will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations here on January 26. Vajpayee will pay a three-day visit to the federally administered Andaman and Nicobar islands from January 17, his second to the scenic coral archipelago in the Bay of Bengal as prime minister. He is also scheduled to visit Bangalore on January 3-4 to inaugurate the Indian Science Congress. This apart, he will be visiting Mumbai and Pune on January 8 and 9 and Kochi on January 15. "The prime minister does not have any time for rest in January. You can see his calendar is full," the aide said. --Indo-Asian News Service *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Copyright 2002, Indo-Asian News Service. For permission to reproduce please contact ians at del2.vsnl.net.in or kpk.kutty at eians.com *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ To unsubscribe from Goanews Send a mail message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: 'unsubscribe goanews'
