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Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun, accompanied by his wife, is scheduled to visit Kolkata on Sunday on a two-day visit, BJP leader and Governing Council of India Foundation Swapan Dasgupta said.
Speaking to ANI, President of Khola Hawa Swapan Dasgupta said, "At one level, this is a private visit of President Rupan of Mauritius to Kolkata." Sharing details on why Roopun is visiting Kolkata, Dasgupta said, "Among the Indian community in Mauritius, those who went there as indentured labourers in the 19th century, there is a strong belief. The last port of call for most of them, when they set sail for Mauritius by ship, was Kolkata. So, they have a sentimental attachment to Kolkata as the last point in which they left India, their forefathers left India. Hence, the importance of Kolkata in an emotional sort of way for them. So, President Rupan is coming here partly as a result of that. And it's really a private visit." Swapan Dasgupta said that there are no state functions involved in Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun's visit to Kolkata. He said that Roopun will visit Dakshineswar Temple and Belur Math. Dasgupta said that there are a few ceremonial things involved in the visit. "There are no state functions involved. There's one civic reception, but apart from that, it's him going to Dakshineshwar Temple and to Belmont and to look at one memorial which has been made by the Port Trust of India, the Calcutta Docks, a memorial for those who were indentured labourers in the 19th century. So he will be doing that. It's a very relaxed sort of informal basis, so there's no political significance. It's mainly a goodwill visit on his part," Swapan Dasgupta told ANI. He further said, "On behalf of Khola Hawa and India Foundation, the two organizations which are hosting him for this visit, I happen to be on the executive of both these bodies, so I will obviously be like a host to him in Kolkata. Well, it's a two-day visit, but as I said, it's essentially a private visit, and there are very few ceremonial things." In November last year, Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun paid a visit to Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on Monday. Roopun and his wife Sayukta Roopun were accompanied by a 7-member delegation. Upon reaching Ayodhya, the President of Mauritius was welcomed by MP Lallu Singh, MLA Vedprakash Gupta, MLA Ramchandra Yadav, Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay, Commissioner Navdeep Rinwa, DIG Amarendra Prasad Singh and many others officials. Mauritius President along with his wife and delegation visited the Ram Temple and offered prayers and performed aarti. Roopun also checked the construction works of the grand temple and obtained information about the development from the engineers. After that, Prithvirajsing Roopun visited Hanumangarhi, Kanak Bhawan. (ANI)
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