Personal touch: PM signs Reagan book

NEW DELHI: In a personal gesture that senior officials say sends a "major signal of where we see Indo-US relations", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the US embassy here Tuesday afternoon to personally sign the official condolence book for Ronald Reagan, the former US president who died on Sunday.
This is the first time an Indian PM has condoled the death of a former US president in this manner.There is a precedent of sorts — George Bush, who was US president at the time, went to the Indian embassy in Washington DC, to sign the condolence book after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991. However, officials say Manmohan''s decision was a heartfelt and personal one.
"At a time when so many questions are unnecessarily being raised about the Indo-US relationship following the defeat of the Vajpayee government, the fact that the PM took time off on a very busy day sends a clear message to all", the official said.
Apart from acknowledging that Reagan was "a good friend of India" — a fact Manmohan reiterated in his letters of condolence to Nancy Reagan and President George W Bush — the PM has sent a positive message on the warmth of our bilateral relations, officials say.
"President Reagan will be remembered for his many qualities of head and heart that endeared him to the American people and enhanced America''s image in the world", Singh wrote in his letter to Bush.