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Two more NRIs appointed to House of Lords

LONDON, MAY 1. Two leading NRIs, Diljit Rana and Kumar Bhattacharya, have been made peers in the House of Lords by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Diljit Rana, founder of Andras House, a leading property development and hospitality company in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was last month appointed the first Honorary Indian Consul in Northern Ireland. He will sit as an Independent in the House of Lords.

Sir Kumar, reportedly the largest Labour donor to be honoured, is understood to have given about 1 million pounds to the party between 1998 and 2000. The Professor of Manufacturing at the University ofWarwick and Director of the Warwick Manufacturing Group, Sir Kumar is often consulted by the Government.

He said he was ``delighted'' by his Peerage and planned to speak in the Lords on international affairs, higher education and industrial issues. He declined to confirm how much he had given to the Labour, saying he had given ``more than 5,000 pounds five years ago.'' At the time of the donation, he was not obliged to reveal the exact amount. Of the 46 new peers appointed last night, 23 are Labour, eight Liberal Democrat and just five are Conservative.

A further seven peers will sit as Crossbenchers, independents. The membership of the Lords now increases to 710. The Prime Minister has also made two personal, non-political nominations — Sir Edward George, former Governor of the Bank of England, and Sir John Kerr, former head of the diplomatic service. — PTI

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