By Parveen Chopra, IANS
New York : India’s ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi will be in New York for two days next month in connection with the UN observing Oct 2, Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, as International Day of Non-Violence.
The day before, on Oct 1, Gandhi will also attend a reception hosted in her honour by the Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC) at Manhattan’s Marriott hotel.
About 3,000 people are expected to attend the event, INOC president Surinder Malhotra said Thursday at a reception held for Andhra Pradesh Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy.
More details of Sonia’s itinerary are not being released for security reasons. The list of invitees to the Marriott hotel will be vetted by US secret service agents, Malhotra said.
On June 15, the UN General Assembly had unanimously adopted an Indian resolution, moved by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma, and declared that Oct 2 would be observed as Non-Violence Day from this year onwards.
Getting the UN to declare Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday as Non-Violence Day is seen here as a significant diplomatic victory for India.