President Pratibha Patil's [Images] maiden state visit to Mexico began on an unpleasant note as one of her important engagements -- an address to the joint session of Parliament -- was cancelled on Thursday at the last minute in view of the blockade of the House by Left-leaning legislators.

The Left legislators have been blocking Parliament for several weeks to protest against the presentation of the Energy Reforms Bill by Mexican President Felipe Calderon in the Senate.

The President's Secretariat had been sounded about the possibility of the cancellation of her address, but the Indian officials were hopeful that the issue would be resolved.

Despite intense last-minute negotiations, the Mexican officials informed the President's Secretariat about the cancellation of her address officially.

Authorities informed the President that it would be advisable if she could avoid the programme as Parliamentary proceedings had been blocked.