Uttar Pradesh will be represented by Health Minister Ahmad Hasan at the 46th annual body meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), currently underway at Greater Noida, officials said Friday.
Officials said Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's participation at the ADB meeting was "nowhere in the picture from day one".
Sources, however, said a section of the bureaucracy was keen that the state be represented by its chief minister, as this was a high profile meeting, and Uttar Pradesh has bid for centre space on the investment map.
"It would have been great if the chief minister made his presence at the meeting as this event is one of its kind," an official said.
Health Minister Ahmad Hasan, who represents the state government at the ADB meet, is standing in for Home Guards Minister Brahma Shankar Tripathi, who has taken ill.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to address the meeting May 5.
Hasan said he would put forth the steps taken by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government to shore up various aspects of governance and administration that would go a long way in creating a conducive atmosphere for investment in the state.
There are many industrialists in the state who feel that ideally, the chief minister should have been present at the ADB meet.
"I feel sorry that this is not happening, the state's progressive chief minister seems to have become hostage to his party's domestic politics, which seems to propagate shunning of everything that is foreign," a senior industrialist said, asking not to be named.
The fact that the high level meeting was being hosted by the state offered enough opportunity to Uttar Pradesh to be seen as an investment friendly destination, but sadly, that chance may be missed, the industrialist opined.
