Manmohan not to meet Sarin

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) today said Manmohan Singh would not meet Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, who is in India tomorrow to meet government leaders.

"This is a private sector matter. There is no question of the government getting involved in it," the PMO spokesperson said.

Sarin will meet Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Vodafone's partner in India, Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, in which it has a 10 per cent stake.

Mittal said he would meet Sarin but added that no plan for Vodafone's exit from Bharti Airtel was expected to be discussed until the British telecom company bought the Hutch stake.

"India has the best commercial laws in place. We would like things to happen smoothly. Indian companies are not used to hostile take-overs; it is for the parties concerned to look for arrangements which are in good commercial tradition," Nath said and added he would meet Sarin tomorrow. Nath has also spoken to European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson on Vodafone's bid for Hutch.

According to television reports, Egyptian telecom operator Orascom said it had not pulled out of the race and that the Egyptian government had written to the Indian government seeking clarity on its stand.