Final call: Obama in Mumbai on November 6, will stay at Taj, visit Mani Bhavan

Mumbai now knows when US president Barack Obama will visit the city and what he will do here. But finer details of the places he is likely to visit is still not clear. And that is because of security constraints. The US authorities are keeping various options open as standby.

“The final venues will be made public only when the White House deems it fit,” a senior US embassy official said. “The final itinerary cannot be made public for obvious reasons.”

“We leave on Friday, the 5th. We get there on the 6th,” Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor for strategic communication to the US government, told the media at Washington. “The first thing that the president will do will be giving a statement at the Taj Hotel where he will stay.” India, as a close counter-terrorism partner of the United States, has shown remarkable resilience in responding to terrorism, he said.

“And the Taj, where the president will stay, was the centrepiece of those attacks in Mumbai. So, the president wanted to pay his respects to the people who lost their lives and to sign the guest book there.”

This will be followed by a visit to Mani Bhavan on Laburnum Road. During the freedom struggle, Gandhi stayed here whenever he was in the city. It now serves as a museum housing several relics related to Gandhi. “The president is looking forward to this visit,” Rhodes said.

After Mani Bhavan, Obama and his team will attend the Indo-US Business Council summit. “We believe India has a huge dynamic and growing market,” Rhodes said. The summit will start with a roundtable conference with entrepreneurs. “The president will then meet CEOs of various US firms where they will discuss the challenges and opportunities of business in India. The president will deliver a speech focussing on the Indo-US economic relationship, the enormous potential for both countries to expand growth, and opportunities for our people.”

Obama and his entourage will spend the night in Mumbai. Obama will start the second day by visiting a school a local school. “Diwali, a pre-eminent Indian holiday, will take place during the president’s visit; so, he will visit a school… participate in the Diwali celebrations,” Rhodes said.

He will talk to university students, but authorities are still to finalise the venue. A source from the university said that officials from the US consulate and security officials visited the Fort campus at least five times in the past two months. “They first suggested the convocation hall,” the source said. “But now they say that the library hall on the first-floor would be better in terms of security. The convocation hall has eight doors whereas the library hall has two.”

There are plans to include a walk through the heritage precincts of the campus. “We want to show Obama the heritage gold coins that were found three years ago in the university strong-room and a collection of old letters of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Swami Vivekanand, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Bipin Chandra Pal,” he said.

Preparations are on at the St Xavier’s College ever since the US consulate contacted the authorities. “We are making arrangements for at least 300 students from across colleges to meet Barack Obama,” a source said.

In Delhi, Obama’s first stop will be Humayan’s tomb. “The president feels it is important to pay tribute to India’s rich civilisation through this stop,” Rhodes said in his statement.

Obama will have a private dinner with prime minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur. “The president has had a very close personal relationship with prime minister Singh since their first meeting in London at the G20,” Rhodes said. “As much as any leader in the world, I think he is somebody who has had a close intellectual connection with the president on a range of issues surrounding economic growth and development; so, he is looking forward to this opportunity to have a private dinner with the prime minister.”

Obama wills start his second day by laying a wreath at Rajghat. He will then have a bilateral meeting with the prime minister and address Parliament in the afternoon. “He feels honoured to be invited by the Indians to speak in Parliament,” Rhodes said.
At night, Obama and wife Michelle will have a state dinner with president Pratibha Patil. Obama and his entourage will leave for Jakarta on Tuesday, the 9th.
    (With inputs from Agencies)