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All the members of the high-powered UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal are such busy men on the move that they spent an inordinately large part of their last meeting discussing their travel plans to find a convenient date for the next round. Here’s a sample: the convenor, Pranab Mukherjee, will be away in New York from September 23 to October 4.

He’s going to be addressing the UN general assembly, holding around 50 bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of different countries and attending on Sonia Gandhi who will speak at the UN on Oct 2, which will be observed as International Non-violence Day from this year.

Chidambaram will also be in the Big Apple around the same time to participate in US President George Bush’s meet on climate change. Kapil Sibal is scheduled to travel to the US and Canada during this period too, unless he cancels his plans at the last moment.

On the other side, Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury and A B Bardhan are off to Vietnam from Sept 24 to Oct 4. Talk about traveling men!

After an intensive discussion, which took up more than half of the 80-odd minutes of the meeting, the committee decided to gather again on Oct 5, more than a fortnight later. In the meantime, they will talk through e-mail.

The government promised to respond to Karat’s 12-page note by the 24th and Left leaders said they would reply to the government’s response by the 27th. Internet zindabad!

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New York’s the place to be from next week, obviously. It’s going to be one giant India party in the Big Apple. Adding colour to the high level political presence is the ‘India at 60’ celebrations organised by the tourism ministry in partnership with the CII.

New York buses and street corners will be plastered with India posters while hundreds of artistes and models will dance, sing, act and parade the catwalk to mark the diamond jubilee of our Independence.

Mukherjee is scheduled to kick off the cultural jamboree at the Lincoln Centre on Monday. Poor Ambika Soni. This was to be the high spot of her stint as tourism minister. Instead, she’ll be nursing her Ram Setu wounds at home, having cancelled her trip to save her seat.

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The spotlight, however, will be on Sonia Gandhi who is going to deliver her second address to the UN. Her first one was during the NDA regime, when she went as India’s ambassador to a special session on HIV/AIDS.

The planning for her schedule for her four-day visit had delicate moments. For instance, NRI Congress supporters, whose banner organisation is called Overseas Friends of the Congress, wanted to invite Hilary Clinton to a reception they are hosting in Gandhi’s honour.

The Indian government vetoed the idea as politically incorrect when an election year is looming in the US. No politicians, the organisers were told, only experts in Gandhian thought and history and of course, NRIs.

TAILPIECE

The capital’s political grapevine is buzzing about the budding friendship between CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat and Jaya Bachchan. They’ve been spotted together frequently in recent weeks, fuelling speculation about a Left-Samajwadi Party tie-up in the next parliamentary polls.

Karat laughed away the buzz, insisting that they were simply indulging in some women bonding on gender issues! With Amar Singh cosying up to the Congress, it looks like Bachchan has been delegated to keep the Left connection alive.

Email: a_jerath@dnaindia.net