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Chaudhry arrives on 10-day visit: PTI

Fiji's deposed prime minister Mahendra Pal Chaudhry arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday night on a 10-day visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Chaudhry, who was released last month after being held hostage for eight weeks by rebel leader George Speight, arrived by a Singapore Airlines flight, accompanied by his wife.

Minister of state for agriculture Chaoba Singh, Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and chief protocol officer M P Singh received him.

Chaudhry is expected to meet President K R Narayanan and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh on August 18 and later hold talks with Vajpayee, who will host a lunch in his honour.

The visit assumes significance as India had greeted with a sense of relief the decision of Fiji's great council of chiefs releasing the deposed premier and his cabinet colleagues from detention from country's parliament building, where they were held hostage since May 19.

Talks with the Indian government will be centred around creation and sustenance of racial harmony in Fiji and restoration of a non-racial democratic government in accordance with Suva's 1997 Constitution.

Looking happy on his return to the land of his forefathers, Chaudhry waved at media persons waiting outside the VIP lounge of the Indira Gandhi international airport but did not speak to them despite requests.

The Haryana chief minister's son Ajay Chautala and relatives of the Fijian leader were also present at the airport to receive him.

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