Security row: US apologises to Chavan, Bhujbal

Mumbai, Nov 6: US Consul-General in Mumbai, Paul A Folmsbee, has apologised to Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal over security protocol glitch, which vexed the state leaders.

"I have visited Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and personally apologised. It was just a clerical error," Folmsbee said, amid threats from Chavan and Bhujbal that they would boycott the US President Barack Obama's functions in India.

The US consulate's insistence that the Maharashtra leaders should produce identification papers to attend the programmes graced by the American president sparked off a row earlier this week.

Official sources on Friday, Nov 5 said that the state leaders were mulling a boycott as they were feeling slighted by the demand for details like birth date, nationality, passport number, PAN card.

However, with the apology coming from the US Consul-General, the issue stands resolved, a news agency reported on Saturday, Nov 6, quoting a Mantralaya official.

OneIndia News