DURBAN:
Amidst continuing stalemate on the Indo-US nuclear deal with Left allies,
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has cut short her four-day visit to South Africa
beginning on Tuesday by dropping Durban from her itinerary.
"Due to circumstances beyond
our control, we have now arranged for the Congress President to visit only
Johannesburg and Cape Town," a spokesperson of the Indian High Commission told
reporters here.
Her trip to
Durban has been cancelled, the spokesperson said.
Although the spokesperson did
not give any reason, it is understood that she cut short her visit in the wake
of the stand-off between the government and Left allies over the Indo-US nuclear
deal.
During her visit, Gandhi
is scheduled to meet the country's former President Nelson Mandela in
Johannesburg tomorrow and then travel to Cape Town to hold talks with President
Thabo Mbeki and Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on Thursday.
She was invited to South
Africa by the country's Deputy President during her visit to India last year.
The South African Department
of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that in addition to holding talks with
President Mbeki, Gandhi would also meet Mbeki's wife, Zanele, in Cape Town.
"Sonia Gandhi will visit South
Africa as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen and consolidate political,
economic, trade and cultural relations between the peoples of South Africa and
India", said spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
