'Emergency' makes Sonia cancel meet with UK PM

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has spoken of forging a 'special relationship with India' and is currently in India, will leave the country without meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi and considered the real power behind the throne.

Financial Times reports that Cameron was originally scheduled to meet Gandhi on Thursday -- something that is penciled into the schedules of visiting dignitaries as a customary courtesy call -- but the meeting was called off on Wednesday night, without any explanation.

The newspaper reports that even Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who usually makes himself available for visiting leaders, left New Delhi this week -- ironically, for London.

Financial Times quoted a senior British diplomat as saying that they had been given 'very clear assurances' that the Gandhis were 'unavoidably out of town for a compelling reason'. He also downplayed reports that said this was a 'snub', saying that the Gandhis were 'very sorry to miss the prime minister on this visit.'

A British cabinet minister was further quoted as saying that the meeting with the Gandhis could not come about due to scheduling reasons. "You can never meet absolutely everyone on a trip like this," he told the newspaper, while another admitted that it would have been nice to meet the powerful family.

Rahul Gandhi's absence must be more jarring for the visiting delegation -- remember his spending time with former Labour foreign secretary David Milliband in Amethi -- also because he represents issues that match Cameron's concerns.

While no reasons were given for Gandhi canceling the meeting with Cameron, a British official was quoted as saying that she was dealing with an unspecified 'emergency'. Sonia Gandhi had missed the opening session of Parliament's monsoon session on Monday, as well.

Incidentally, Cameron has met Sonia and Rahul Gandhi on his visit to the country in 2006 -- when he was the leader of the opposition.