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THE heat over the phone tapping issue and the finance Bill in Parliament reached a relatively colder Bhutan and will delay the inauguration of the 16th SAARC Summit on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the last among the leaders of the eight member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ( SAARC) to arrive in Thimphu. Bhutan is hosting the summit for the first time.

The inauguration had to be put off to Wednesday afternoon instead of morning, Nepalese daily Daily Nagarik reported on Monday. Sources here also indicated same.

“ The summit inauguration has been delayed as the Indian prime minister will come a day later,” Bhutan’s information and communications secretary Kinley Dorji was reported as saying by the daily.

“ Instead of morning, it has been rescheduled for Wednesday afternoon.” Most other heads of states will arrive in Thimphu by Tuesday. Though Singh was earlier expected on Tuesday, parliamentary proceedings will delay his arrival. There were speculations about whether Singh would skip the summit, but the Prime Minister’s Office denied the reports.

According to sources, the bilateral meetings of the Indian prime minister with other SAARC heads of state and governments will also be rescheduled.