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China ‘calls off’ youth team meeting with CEC, NHRC

Author: Shubhajit Roy
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: March 1, 2012
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/china-calls-off-youth-team-meeting-with-cec-nhrc/918498/0

A meeting of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and a senior official from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with a visiting youth delegation from China was cancelled recently after the Chinese embassy asked the South Block to intervene. The Indian government was not keen to call off the appointments as it wanted to showcase Indian elections and the top rights body, sources told The Indian Express.

About 500 Chinese youth under the age of 35 years are on a tour of India from February 25 to March 4. This is part of the India-China youth exchange programme announced in December 2010, under which an equal number of Indian youth had gone to China last year.

The Chinese delegation is being led by a woman from Tibet — a political point not lost on the Indian establishment.

The sources said after the delegation landed in Delhi, officials from the Indian side handed them a copy of the programme schedule, which detailed their meetings with President Pratibha Patil, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ajay Maken among other engagements.

The sources said the Chinese delegation, after going through the programme schedule, showed reluctance for a meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner and a member of the National Human Rights Commission — which was scheduled between 2.30 pm and 4 pm on February 27.

An official privy to the developments said the Chinese delegates cited the reason of “paucity of time” and argued that there was a dinner at the Chinese embassy being hosted by their ambassador at 4.30 pm. “And this appointment with CEC and NHRC official was scheduled between lunch with the Youth Affairs Minister and the Chinese embassy’s dinner,” they told the Indian side.

The sources said the idea behind these meetings — which were then hurriedly cancelled — was to showcase “India’s democratic institutions”.
 
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