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PM invites Sonia for consultations

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI MAY 18. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has invited the Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sonia Gandhi, for consultation on the heightened tension in the India-Pakistan relationship. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for tomorrow.

Mr. Vajpayee would apprise Ms. Gandhi of the military and diplomatic options vis-a-vis Pakistan.

The Prime Minister is also likely to raise the issue of Presidential elections. Given the vertical split in the electoral college, a bitter contest can be avoided only if the BJP and the Congress agree on a common candidate. On its part, the Congress would be happy if the President, K.R. Narayanan, gets a second term. Though the BJP managers have been mentioning the Maharashtra Governor, P.C. Alexander, as the "front-runner'', he is mostly seen as a decoy.

PM may visit `forward area'

The Prime Minister has postponed by "a day or two'' his proposed holiday trip to Manali. He was earlier scheduled to leave for the Himachal Pradesh resort town on Monday. He is now likely to visit a "forward area" in the next couple of days.

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