Politicians, diplomats honour Shobana Kamineni, first woman president of CII

HONOURING A WOMAN ACHIEVER: Last year, politician T Subbarami Reddy hosted a party to felicitate Priyanka Chopra on the day she came to Delhi to receive the Padma Shri. Continuing with the tradition of felicitating women achievers, Reddy hosted a party to honour Shobana Kamineni, the first woman president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The party was attended by politicians and diplomats, many of who were present at his party last year too. With Chinese ambassador Luo Zhaouhui's entry, however, many heads turned and someone even commented, "Everything isn't that bad between India and China!"THE FILMI CONNECT: Hema Malini and Jaya PradaA FAMILY AFFAIR: Actor and politician Hema Malini was accompanied by her younger daughter Ahana Deol and her husband, Vaibhav Vora. The actress didn’t stay for long and left after the formal ceremony was over. Keeping her speech brief during the ceremony, Shobana said, "I am humbled with the gesture and it is a matter of prestige for me to represent CII as its first woman president. Mr Reddy has been a great host." Among other guests present at the party were Jaya Prada and Shatrughan Sinha.(L-R) Sandeep Reddy, PJ Kurien, deputy chairman, Rajya Sabha and Bina Ramani (BCCL)THERE IS ENOUGH WORK, NO TIME FOR PARTIES: Jaya, who is rarely seen at social gatherings in the capital, came from Mumbai just to attend the do. She told us that while the Reddys are like family to her, she has always been very good friends with Shobana. "I am mostly in Delhi for work, or while I am travelling to my constituency in Uttar Pradesh. This time, I only came here to be a part of this event. There was no way I could have said no to Mr Reddy," she said.Belgian ambassador Jan Luykx, Chinese ambassador Luo Zhaohui and British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith (BCCL) Sri Lankan High Commissioner Chitranganee Wagiswara, Sandeep Jajodia and Digvijay Singh (BCCL)Rajiv Luthra and Baijayant Panda (BCCL)Praful PatelDr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (BCCL)Anand Sharma T Subbarami Reddy with wife (BCCL)Nalini Singh and Shatrughan Sinha (BCCL)Sarita Reddy and Australian High Commissioner Harinder Sidhu (BCCL)Pari and Rajinder BaggaMonica and Vivek Burman (BCCL)Kusum and Sushil Ansal (BCCL)Anirudh and Rajiv Reddy, Subbarami's grandsonsVaibhav Vora and Ahana Deol (BCCL)Suneeta Reddy and Preetha Reddy (Shobana's sisters)Jyotiraditya Scindia and Indira Reddy (BCCL)Sunil Kant Munjal and Kavita Bhartia