Row over Hu's address to Parliament

The controversy over whether Chinese President Hu Jintao will address a joint session of Parliament seems to be getting bigger.

Two days after CPI leader AB Bardhan claimed that Minister for Parliamentray Affairs Priyaranjan Dasmunshi had mooted such a proposal, Dasmunshi denied the claim.

"There is no such proposal, there never has been," he said after the Cabinet met this morning.

He said he had suggested to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the winter session of Parliament begin from November 27 instead of November 22. Hu Jintao will be in Delhi during the period, a fact that probably accentuated the confusion.

The Left leaders, meanwhile, maintained that the proposal had come from Dasmunshi.

Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said the idea of Hu Jintao addressing Parliament was given a quiet burial after Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee had a word with Dasmunshi and told him not to pursue the matter and to allow the MEA to carry out the original plan.

South block officials were upset at the way the visit was being hijacked by the Left and the parliamentray affairs minister. "The Left did not allow George Bush, who represents a democratic country, to address a joint session. How can they insist in the case of Hu Jintao?" said an official.

The Chinese, however, appear more keen on a dozen or so trade pacts, including a regional trade agreement.

Hu is also scheduled to visit Mumbai. This will be the first-ever visit by a Chinese president to India in nearly 10 years.

"The matter appears to be closed, although with the date of the session being brought forward, there appears to be a chance that it may still happen," said an official.