FAREWELL DINNER FOR PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN SINGH

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was on Wednesday night lavishly praised at a farewell dinner hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and attended by a galaxy of party leaders except Rahul Gandhi who skipped it, raising political eyebrows.The function at 10, Janpath, Sonia's residence, was held as a mark of gratitude by the party whose coalition government 81-year-old Singh led for 10 long years.A memento was presented to Singh with signatures of top Congress leaders and Union ministers and Pallam Raju read out the dedication inscribed on it in praise and honour of the prime minister.Both Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur were presented with bouquets and party leaders were seen scrambling for a photograph with the couple and Sonia Gandhi.The only sour note was the absence of Rahul at the dinner. PMO sources late Wednesday night said that Rahul met the Prime Minister on Saturday to say that he won't be in town and had already thanked him.There was speculation that Rahul was probably travelling abroad and would be back before counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls begins on Friday.

When asked why Rahul had not attended the dinner, Union Minister Kamal Nath said that he was not aware of the reason. "I do not know why he did not attend," he said.Another minister R.P.N. Singh when asked about questions raised over Rahul's absence said, "It is unfortunate that politics is being done over it.""Sonia Gandhi honoured the Prime Minister and handed him a 'prashasti patra' (citation). No speeches were made at the farewell," Union Minister Rajiv Shukla said. Rahul had also expressed regret that he would not be able to attend the farewell function as he would be out of town, Shukla added.

But J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, whose party National Conference is an ally of the Congress, felt that a statement should have been put out in advance if Rahul was not to attend the farewell dinner."If you knew he (Rahul) was not attending the dinner and he had explained his absence to the PM earlier, put out the statement before the news breaks," Omar tweeted.The economist-turned-politician had announced his retirement in January, saying he would not run for a third term.Minister of State J.D. Seelam said it was a 'thanksgiving dinner for the Prime Minister and all of us greeted him for his great contribution in the last 10 years of the UPA government'.The party had only on Tuesday hailed Singh's able stewardship of the government, underlining how he had led the country through difficult times.

"Singh's experienced and seasoned stewardship, his personal integrity and ability to lead the country through difficult times is noteworthy and India is proud to have earned so many laurels and respect during the 10 years," AICC had said.Singh would be demitting office on May 17, a day after the Lok Sabha election results are announced.

He had assumed office on May 22, 2009, for his second straight term as prime minister and already holds the distinction of being the third-longest serving head of the Union government after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.A former governor of RBI, Singh - who is often described as the architect of India's economic reforms - entered politics in 1991 when he was made Finance Minister by the then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.

Prof. John Kurakar