Posted on 11/21/2003 7:00:11 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
New Delhi, Nov 21 -- The boyish grin is still there and so is his capacity to charm - all of which was in abundance Friday when former U.S. president Bill Clinton met girl students from a rural institution as he kicked off his two-day India visit.
"It is wonderful to be back in Delhi. I have slept little last night. But I am always wide awake in this country," the man credited with lifting Indo-U.S. relations to a new plane of engagements told the girls at the Maurya Sheraton hotel, his favourite stop in the Indian capital.
"Hello, sir", "How are you, sir", the girls inquired eagerly as they stretched out to shake hands with Clinton, dressed in a dark suit, a blue striped shirt and a red tie.
The girls started speaking English only after joining the institute and are now fluent in that language.
The girls were from Ram Rati Gupta Women's Polytechnic in rural Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, set up by Vinod Gupta, Clinton's friend and chief of Info-USA, a $250 million Omaha-based enterprise. Gupta went to the U.S. after graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
The polytechnic is named after Gupta's mother. The institution is Gupta's way of doing his bit for his village, Rampur-Maniharan, "a long dusty ride from the district headquarters of Saharanpur".
Clinton had visited the institute in 2001 when he came to India on a relief mission to Gujarat after the state was hit by a killer earthquake.
The institute has a centre for multimedia technology, named after Clinton's wife, New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"Hillary is active in politics and is in a position to do more than a former politician like me," Clinton said.
Clinton said the polytechnic symbolised what India should be doing to extend economic opportunities to the rural areas.
"The contribution that Gupta is making is a model of what needs to be done by more people in more places," he said.
He said the main purpose of his visit, organised by the Clinton Foundation, was to discuss assistance to check the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Vajpayee will be hosting a luncheon in his honour.
Clinton said he had visited Europe, South Korea and Japan for collecting funds for the AIDS campaign and had also been to China to discuss the problem posed by the disease in that country.
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| Fri Nov 21, 6:46 AM ET |
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Former US President Bill Clinton (news - web sites) (C) poses with students of the Ram Rati Gupta women's Polytechnic school of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh state, during a breakfast meeting in New Delhi. Clinton is in India for a three-day visit.(AFP/Raveendran) |
Well he still has what the NY Times called his "habitual mendacity".
No doubt he still has his knack for making people laugh too:
``At any point during his testimony, did anyone laugh at the president?'' Schippers asked _ shooting a disapproving look at snickering committee Democrats.
``Yes,'' Starr replied.
Schippers barked, ``Who?''
``The jury,'' Starr said. "
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