Bush stays at Taj, makes a statement

 
Bush headed straight for the Taj Mahal Tower and Palace Hotel when he arrived in the city on Saturday afternoon from Delhi on a whistle-stop visit in a private jet. He was the second high-profile US politician to stay in the hotel in an act of solidarity with 26/11 victims.

He was received by hotel general manager Karambir Kang, who lost his wife and two children in the terrorist assault on the iconic Taj Hotel, one of the places targeted by Pakistani terrorists in a three-day siege of Mumbai that killed over 170 people, including six Americans.

Interacting with the hotel staff on Sunday, George Bush expressed his solidarity with the 26/11 victims, and hoped that the two countries will enhance their co-operation to defeat extremists and terrorists, sources said here.

The India-US CEOs Forum hosted dinner for Bush where he met top Indian business personalities and underlined the need for expanding trade and investment between the world’s largest democracies.

Bush will be leaving later, wrapping up his three-day visit, his first to the country after he was succeeded by President Barack Obama.

Incidentally, Bush was in India at a time when the United States State Department had issued yet another travel advisory on India, alerting its citizens to “continuing security concern” in the country.

The advisory warned US citizens that the United States government “continues to receive information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India.”