Wednesday, September 6 2006 12:39 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Conservative Party leader David Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne currently on a four-day visit to India - have heaped praise on India's growing political and economic prowess, but Labour leaders have dismissed the visit as 'yet another cynical stunt'.

In separate articles in the British press, Cameron and Osborne called for much closer links between Britain and India. Indeed, Cameron called for Britain forging a "special relationship" with India on the lines of Britain and the United States.

Writing in The Guardian, Cameron said: "Our special relationship with America has been forged through a shared past and a shared understanding of the world. And now, in the 21st century, as the world's centre of gravity moves from Europe and the Atlantic to the south and the east, I believe it is time for Britain and India to forge a new special relationship, to meet our shared challenges in this new era of international affairs.

"I attach the highest priority to Britain's relationship with India. For too long, politics in this country has been obsessed with Europe and America. Of course these relationships are, and will continue to be, vital.

"But serious and responsible leadership in the 21st century means engaging with far greater energy in the parts of the world where Britain's strategic interests will increasingly lie," he said.

Taking note of latest indicators of economic growth such as millions of new mobile users enlisted in India each month, Osborne wrote in The Times, "The message from the subcontinent could not be clearer. Britain is in danger of missing the bus - again.

"I say 'again' because in China we have failed to make the most of the extraordinary opportunities of the past decade, languishing behind 11 other nations in our levels of trade.

"Now in India we risk losing out as well, despite the enormous potential for British companies," he said.

"Democracy is on India's side too. Who knows what the future holds for Chinese communism? Political risk is a concern of every investor in China. Yet in Delhi we will be having lunch with a prime minister who can boast a bigger democratic mandate than all the prime ministers and presidents of Europe and the United States put together," he said.

He said there was need to get rid of the 'patronising assumption' that the only thing India has to offer is a giant back office.

"I have met here Indian companies who have bought pharmaceutical factories in Huddersfield, opened call centres in Northern Ireland and, in the case of Tata Consultancy Services, have UK operations that employ more than 7,000 people," he said.

"Yet many tell me that the British Government, unlike our competitors, still does not see this as a partnership of equals. If Britain is to compete in the new global economy, it is time to think again," he said.

Cameron recently visited Nelson Mandela in South Africa and famously stated that former prime minister Margaret Thatcher was wrong in dubbing Mandela and his African National Congress 'terrorists'.

Labour leaders make light of Cameron's international forays and point out that after the visit, Mandela had merely stated that Cameron's visit was a courtesy call and that no serious issue had been discussed.

Labour leaders similarly dismiss the ongoing visit to India particularly Cameron's visit to Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat as a 'cynical stunt'.

The Daily Mirror quoted a senior Labour source as saying, "There appears to be no end to Cameron's bid to ingratiate himself. Last week he was praising Mandela, this week it is Gandhi.

"The truth is these men fought the prejudice and ignorance that epitomises the Tory Party. Thatcher failed to support Mandela's battle against Apartheid, and Churchill accused Gandhi of aiding the enemy during World War II. But Gandhi stood up for Indian independence and invented the policy of non-violent civil disobedience. He was a man of great compassion and vision," he said.