Bruni

New Delhi, Jan. 25: Nicolas Sarkozy might not have to make a lonesome trip to the Taj Mahal after all.

Although there is still no official word from the French government yet, the personnel in charge of protocol have got “enough positive indications” that Carla Bruni is on her way to India to give her President boyfriend company at the monument to love.

To ward off any protocol tangle, Bruni has apparently decided to come in a purely personal capacity. This means she will not be accompanying the President to any official event.

Sources said the model-turned-singer was likely to take a commercial flight and land in Delhi tonight.

“Now we are just waiting for an official word from the French. If Bruni wants to accompany Sarkozy and stay with him, the French will have to inform us since we are responsible for the President’s security while he is here,” a protocol officer said.

“There is no way we will let anyone go near the President unless we have been given the go-ahead from their side,” he added.

The buzz about Bruni’s arrival began when Sarkozy insisted on visiting the Taj. The monument has been a must-visit on most VIPs’ list, and it was unlikely that the President and his girlfriend, who romanced among the pyramids of Egypt and at the Petra in Jordan earlier this month, would give the Taj a miss.

But the trip has to be quick.

“He has a very narrow time window. The Republic Day function ends at 12.30pm and Sarkozy is also the guest of honour at President Pratibha Patil’s at-home, which is at 4pm. It is in these three-and-a-half hours that he has to make his visit,” the protocol officer said.

The President has dropped another hint about an Indian date with Bruni. He has made a special request for a “private dinner” tomorrow before flying back to Paris.

People fixing Sarkozy’s tightly packed itinerary were asked if they could leave him free for the dinner at the Oberoi Hotel, where he is staying.

“There seems little reason for him to ask for a private dinner unless his lady love is likely to be with him,” an official said.