The Hindu : Front Page : Maintaining the political balance

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 02, 2005

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Front Page

Maintaining the political balance

By K. Venugopal

PORT LOUIS, APRIL 1 . In public engagements today, the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, took exceptional care to maintain his bi-partisan line with reference to the domestic politics in Mauritius.

He had, in the view of some local commentators, slipped up a bit in his speech to the National Assembly when he effusively praised the first Prime Minister of Mauritius, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, for his contribution to the island's development but failed to note that of the current President, Aneerood Jugnauth.

(Sir Seewoosagur's son Navin Ramgoolam, is currently the Leader of the Opposition Mauritius Labour Party, which is seeking to return to power in elections that are due later this year.)

Today, Dr. Singh spoke of the two leaders in virtually the same breath. "Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the Father of the Mauritian nation, worked hard to make this country a beautiful orchard of many races, creeds and beliefs," he said at a civic reception, and then quickly followed it with: "on this foundation was laid the edifice of what many have come to regard as the `Mauritian miracle' under the able leadership of Sir Aneerood Jugnauth."

He added that the two leaders were "role models and a source of inspiration for the entire Indian diaspora."

A different kind of politics was played out by the Mauritius Deputy Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth, the son of the President.

In his speech at the same venue, he noted the successful visit of the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, last year which he said had followed those by Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. There was no reference to the visit of the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in 2000.

Dr. Singh's busy schedule during a bright sunny day saw him unveil a plaque at Apravasi Ghat, a memorial for those first immigrants from India, and dedicate the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre, built by Indian companies with grants from the Indian Government. The facility can host a concert, conference or trade fair, and if pushed, all of those simultaneously.

"We do not have this kind of facility even in New Delhi," was a remark it induced from a top Indian bureaucrat.

IT complex

The Prime Minister also formally inaugurated the Cyber Tower, an information technology complex that was designed and built again by Indian companies with an Indian line of credit.

The "intelligent" building spans 4,500 square metres of office space. While that makes it half the size of the Tidel Park in Chennai, it is said to have vastly advanced facilities. It cost about $28 million.

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