President poll: Congress waits for Mamata's vote on Pranab's nomination

June 9, 2012
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New Delhi, June 9: The race to Raisina Hill is nearing the finish line and the Congress is now reaching out to allies outside the UPA for consensus on Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee's nomination. The Congress is already in touch with the Samajwadi Party and is expected to be speaking to key ally and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee soon.

The West Bengal Chief Minister had earlier expressed reservations on Pranab as a Presidential candidate and her vote is key to naming a final nominee.

Sources said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has been authorised by the party's Working Committee to pick the candidate, is likely to make the announcement around June 15, probably a couple of days after the expected poll notification by the Election Commission.

Significantly, Sonia's Political Advisor Ahmed Patel had a meeting with Mukherjee at his North Block office.

The sources said the Congress has already secured the support of key allies like DMK, NCP and RLD, who form part of the government, and outside supporters like Samajwadi Party.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief and Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Wednesday described Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as a "qualified" candidate for the post of President but said his views on others were equally positive. "The Finance Minister is qualified for President. My views are positive on him, but my views are positive on others as well", Singh said.

BSP, another outside supporter, and UPA's second largest constituent Trinamool Congress, are not not expected to oppose the UPA candidate.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has reportedly struck a deal with the Congress and agreed to back UPA-II's Presidential candidate.

The sources said though Mamata Banerjee had taken the name Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and a couple of others as her favourite, her party is expected to toe the UPA line once Mukherjee's name is announced, the logic being that Trinamool Congress cannot be expected to oppose a candidate from Bengal for the top post.

The sources also made it clear that no names were considered at the meeting of the Congress Core Group on Friday morning which was attended by Sonia, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and some other leaders.

Meanwhile, former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma, who has been named by AIADMK and BJD as their candidate, met BJP leader LK Advani on Friday to seek NDA's support for him. Sangma is hoping to become the first tribal leader to hold the nation's top office.

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News Network
April 14,2020

New Delhi, Apr 14: With 1,211 fresh cases of coronavirus reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country has reached 10,363 including 339 deaths, said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, here on Tuesday.

As many as 1,036 people have recovered from the disease so far, said Aggarwal during the daily media briefing on the coronavirus. "In one day, 179 people were diagnosed and found cured," he added.

"A total of 10,363 confirmed cases have been reported in India including 339 deaths and 1,036 people, who were COVID-19 positive have recovered. Out of the total deaths, 31 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours," said Aggarwal.

Aggarwal said that an evaluation of each district and city will be done till April 20.

"An evaluation of each district and city will be done till April 20 in which it will be evaluated what measures did that authorities take in these cities and districts to combat COVID-19," he said.

"Based on the results of this litmus test approach, permission will be granted for some selective activities to those districts and cities which controlled the situation effectively. Detailed guidelines will be issued soon," he added.

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News Network
May 20,2020

New Delhi, May 20: With 5,611 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 tally reached 1,06,750 on Wednesday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 140 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 3,303.

Out of the total cases, 61,149 are actives cases and 42,298 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state with 37,136 cases, followed by Tamil Nadu (12,448 cases), Gujarat (12,140 cases), and Delhi (10,554 cases).

The nationwide lockdown imposed as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus has been extended till May 31.

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News Network
March 24,2020

Ahmedabad, Mar 24: The Gujarat police has detained 426 people in the last 24 hours for violating lockdown rules in force in the state to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak, a senior official said on Tuesday.

They include those who came out despite being advised home quarantine, state Director General of Police Shivanand Jha said.

"The lockdown met with around 90 per cent success. We are taking strict measures to implement the lockdown in the remaining 10-15 per cent areas. We have lodged 238 cases related to the violation of police notification and 127 cases related to quarantine rule violation. In all, we have detained 426 persons across the state," Jha told reporters in Gandhinagar.

"For better implementation of the lockdown and to address issues concerning people, we have set up a dedicated 24-hour control room and appointed two additional DGP rank officers to supervise operations. Three teams under them would work to resolve issues across the state," said Jha.

He said police commissioners and districts SPs have been asked to enforce the lockdown in an effective manner.

Essential services like vegetable and milk shops are allowed to remain open, he said, and asked people not to flock in large numbers to such shops.

The state has so far reported 33 COVID-19 cases, and one person has died of the infection.

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