Chandra Shekhar to inaugurate Hegde birthday fete tomorrow

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, AUG. 27. The 75th birthday celebrations of the former Chief Minister, Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde, being organised here on Wednesday, will be an apolitical affair with leaders from various parties and people from all walks of life expected to attend the programme.

The Secretary-General of the Janata Dal (U), Mr. Basavaraja Rayaraddi, and the secretaries of the Hegde 75 Felicitation Committee, Mr. V.S. Krishna Iyer, Mr. B. Shreepathy Rao, and Mr. Pramod Hegde, told presspersons here today that the celebrations to be gone through on Bangalore Palace Grounds would be inaugurated by the former Prime Minister, Mr. Chandra Shekhar. Another former Prime Minister, Mr. V.P. Singh, would attend depending on his health. Mr. Singh, who has a kidney ailment, has to undergo dialysis thrice a week and if his doctors permit him to undergo a dialysis in Bangalore, he would take part in the celebrations.

The Chief Minister, Mr. S.M. Krishna, will preside over the programme. The others, who have agreed to attend the function, include the Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr. Sharad Yadav, the former Union minister, Mr. Sharad Pawar, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Farooq Abdulla, and the Union ministers, Ms. Sushma Swaraj, Ms. Maneka Gandhi and Mr. Venkaiah Naidu.

Mr. Krishna Iyer and Mr. Shreepathy Rao said all arrangements had been made for a large gathering of people from across the State. People would not be permitted to garland Mr. Hegde on the occasion.

The 75th birthday celebrations was contemplated to provide an impetus to the ongoing talks on the merger of the Janata Dal (United) with the Janata Dal (Secular). However, with the former Prime Minister, Mr. H.D. Deve Gowda, ruling out even his participation in the celebrations, the birthday fete will now have no political overtones. The former Union minister, Mr. S.R. Bommai, who had earlier agreed to attend the celebrations, is now an unlikely participant.

The organisers have not extended an invitation to the Samata Party leader, Mr. George Fernandes, while his party colleague and Union minister, Mr. Nitish Kumar, has been invited.

Four books on the 55 years of Mr. Hegde's public life will be released on the occasion.

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Section  : Southern States
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