Agencies

New Delhi, Mar.23 Leader of Opposition and senior BJP leader L.K.Advani and his wife today visited the 10, Janpath residence of Congress party president Sonia Gandhi to wish her on the occasion of the festival of colours, Holi.

What transpired between the two leaders during the visit was not immediately known. Sources close to both parties were also tightlipped about the interaction. The BJP leader and his wife also called on Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at his official 7, Racecourse Road residence to offer his Holi greetings.

Advani’s visit to the residences of the Prime Minister and the Congress president assumes significance in the light of his recent statement that it was unfortunate that he had not been able to have genuine communication with Sonia Gandhi at a personal level.

In an interview to a television channel this week after the release of his autobiography “My Country, My Life”, Advani had said that he wished for change in the relationship between the two sooner than later.
“If that doesn’t change (his relationship with Sonia Gandhi), my relationship with the Prime Minister becomes somewhat strained,” he said.

He also recalled instances in the past when he had offered the olive branch to both Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Singh, but this was not acknowledged by them personally.

He said that if he knew there would be a response from the two Congress leaders, he would be more than happy to reciprocate.

He also gave his views on Congress MP from Amethi and Sonia Gandhi’s son, Rahul Gandhi. He said that while he would not like to comment on the latter’s political future, he had met him in the VIP lounge of the airport, and both had briefly discussed the present situation in the country and what was in store for it in the future.
“I would not say anything on the political potential of Rahul Gandhi,” he had said then.

Advani’s visit to 10, Janpath and 7, Racecourse Road was figuratively the icing on the cake as far as Holi celebrations at the political level was concerned.

The entire nation rejoiced in the the festival of colours on Saturday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh quietly celebrated Holi with some of his ministerial colleagues.

A cheerful Sonia Gandhi joined her party workers, while former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee distributed colours and sweets to a group of children to mark the festival.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and ministers Prithviraj Chavan, Suresh Pachauri, Anand Sharma and Aswini Kumar were among those who visted 7, Racecourse Road to celebrate Holi with the prime minister and his wife Gursharan Kaur.

Sonia Gandhi participated in the festival clad in a pink sari. She applied colours to party men and women