Union minster of state for home RPN Singh was the minister in waiting for president Pranab Mukherjee during his recent Mauritius visit. Singh told the president that the stay in Port Louis should have been for 3-4 days as it is a strategic location. Pranab Mukherjee said that he was invited by the host country to be the chief guest for its 45th Independence Day celebrations and once it was over he would leave but for the bilateral agreements ceremony the following day. Singh concern was the 8-hour travel from New Delhi to Port Louis. The president’s daughter, Sharmistha Mukherjee, intervened to say something but the president got angry and said it was his principle to leave the venue as soon as the business got over.

Don’t malign us: Mauritian PM
When a newsman asked Mauritius prime minister Navin Chandra Ramgoolam if he felt that Mauritius was being maligned as a tax haven, he said ‘yes’. “Do not malign this great country as tax haven. We are the best administered and structured administration. We are also very transparent. We would never allow the financial markets to misuse our innocence,” he said.

Veena Ramgoolam, a belly dancer
Veena Ramgoolam, the wife of Mauritius prime minister NC Ramgoolam is a known belly dancer. And she conveyed this to the visiting Indian delegation that impressed not only senior members of the delegates but also Sharmistha Mukherjee, who is herself a Kathakali dancer.