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Kerala ready for prime minister's visit

D Jose in Trivandrum

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is arriving in Kerala Tuesday afternoon for a holiday. He will be putting up at the famous Kumarakom lake resort in Kottayam district.

Accompanied by his foster daughter, her husband and children and personal staff, Vajpayee is scheduled to arrive at Kottayam by a helicopter at 2.45 pm.

He will proceed straight to Kumarakom by car.

The prime minister, who has had very little rest after his knee replacement surgery in Bombay on October 10, will be confined to Kumarakom during is week-long stay.

He has turned down a couple of requests for attending public functions and is not likely to entertain political leaders and delegations.

However, the prime minister is scheduled to meet a group of Christian leaders to remove their apprehensions about his government's secular credentials.

Minister of State for Railways O Rajagopal, who is taking care of the arrangements for Vajpayee's stay in Kerala, has had preparatory talks with several Christian leaders.

Vajpayee's meeting with Christian leaders could give a fillip to the Bharatiya Janata Party's efforts to woo Christians in the state.

The attempt had some success in the last local body elections, when Kerala Congress (M), a regional party championing the interests of Christians, made direct as well as indirect adjustments with the BJP.

Besides parleys with religious leaders, the prime minister is also expected to spend an hour with senior BJP functionaries at Kumarakom on December 31.

The prime minister will also attend to urgent official matters during his stay in Kerala. All facilities to maintain constant touch with Delhi are in place at the Taj Garden Retreat, where he will stay.

The prime minister's security during his stay in Kerala will be the same as provided at his official residence in New Delhi.

The entire holiday resort has been taken over by the elite Special Protection Group. The SPG has also sought the help of Coast Guard and Navy in maintaining vigil around the resort.

Vajpayee's visit has come as a blessing for tourists as well as locals in Kumarakom. All the roads leading to the holiday resort have been re-laid.

Vajpayee is the third prime minister to holiday in Kerala. Jawaharlal Nehru and his grandson Rajiv Gandhi had stayed at the Thekkady Hill Resort when they were prime ministers.

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