Raisina Hill all set to welcome Pranab Mukherjee as 13th President

July 23, 2012

Pranab_after

New Delhi, July 23: Rashtrapati Bhavan is getting ready for its new resident, Pranab Mukherjee, who will take oath as the 13th President of India at 11.30 am on Wednesday. This evening, Parliamentarians will gather in Central Hall to give a farewell to Pratibha Patil.

In the end, the suspense on Sunday was only over what the margin of Mr Mukherjee's victory would be. He got 69.31 per cent votes, very close to the 70 per cent that his poll managers had promised he would. In absolute numbers that meant 713,937 votes of the total 10,29,924 valid votes polled. This included a windfall from cross-voting by MLAs in BJP-ruled Karnataka.

The BJP's man, Purno Sangma, got the other 30.69 per cent and is still crying foul.

None of the North East states voted for Mr Sangma, who, while conceding defeat and wishing Mr Mukherjee success last evening, also alleged that threats, gifts and coercion by the central government had helped Mr Mukherjee's cause. He also said he might rake up the office of profit issue again to challenge Mr Mukherjee's election in court.

There are other detractors. Team Anna has said it will begin a fast on Wednesday, the day Mr Mukherjee takes over, with what activist Arvind Kejriwal called a revelation of corruption charges against the President-elect, who was the country's Finance Minister before he resigned last month.

Mr Mukherjee has other things on his mind. Like meeting the hundreds of visitors now making a beeline for his residence. He said on Sunday evening as news of his victory came in, "I have received much more from the people, parties, Parliament than I have given them. I will try to justify."

Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee reportedly called Mr Mukherjee to congratulate him last evening and confirmed that she would attend the swearing-in ceremony. Ms Banerjee had said last week that she would vote for Mr Mukherjee, but very reluctantly.

Among the many important visitors that he received last evening were Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife. Today, the list of high-profile visitors included Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel, Tariq Anwar and DP Tripathi.

BSP chief Mayawati visited and said, "I have come to congratulate him and I had said this earlier that for the President's post, he is capable and well-accomplished. I am confident that he will fulfill his responsibility with dignity, honesty and abide by the constitution."

NCP chief Sharad Pawar, in Delhi today to decide on whether his party will continue to participate in the UPA government, is expected to also visit Mr Mukherjee this morning. The NCP duly waited till the Presidential elections were over before it went public with its sulk.

The returning officer for the presidential election and Rajya Sabha Secretary General V K Agnihotri will send a copy of the result and the victory certificate to the Law Ministry to enable the government initiate the process of installing the new President. A similar copy will be sent to the Election Commission.

On Wednesday morning, Mr Mukherjee will be escorted by the President's Military Secretary to Rashtrapati Bhavan. From there President Pratibha Patil and Mr Mukherjee will leave in a ceremonial cavalcade for the swearing-in ceremony. The short route will be lined with soldiers. He will take oath in the Central Hall of Parliament. The Chief Justice of India will administer the oath of office.

Soon after the swearing-in ceremony, Mr Mukherjee will go to Rashtrapati Bhavan where he will be received at the forecourts by outgoing President. Mr Mukherjee will then escort Ms Patil to her temporary accommodation in Tughlak Lane where she will stay till her post-retirement home in Pune is ready.

Up ahead lie tough tasks for Mr Mukherjee. There are more than 10 petitions sent by prisoners on death row to the President's office, asking for clemency. Among them, that of Afzal Guru, convicted for a terror attack on Parliament in 2001, a brazen assault in which 12 people were killed when Parliament was in session. The new President will have to decide what becomes of these mercy petitions, some of which have major political ramifications. For example, Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is in jail in Punjab for the assassination of former chief minister Beant Singh, is treated as a martyr and paid lavish tribute by the Sikh clergy.

The President is also likely to have a huge imprint on the political future of the country in 2014, when the general elections are expected to yield a hung Parliament. The President could then have a casting vote to decide who should come to power. He also has the right to dissolve a deeply-fractured Parliament, if that's what the results deliver.

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News Network
May 11,2020

New Delhi, May 11: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh is stable and under observation at the AIIMS here after suffering reaction to a new medication and developing fever, hospital sources said on Monday.

The 87-year-old Congress leader was admitted to the hospital on Sunday evening after he complained of uneasiness. He has now been shifted out of the ICU.

The sources said that Singh had developed a reaction to a new medication and further investigation is being carried on him to rule out other causes of fever.

"Dr Manmohan Singh was admitted for observation and investigation after he developed a febrile reaction to a new medication," the sources said.

"He is being investigated to rule out other causes of fever and is being provided care as needed. He is stable and under care of a team of doctors at the Cardiothoracic Centre of AIIMS," they said.

"All his parameters are fine. He is under observation at the AIIMS," a source close to him has said.

Singh, a senior leader of the opposition Congress, is currently a Member of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. He was the prime minister between 2004 and 2014.

In 2009, Singh underwent a successful coronary bypass surgery at the AIIMS. A number of leaders expressed have expressed concern over his health and wished him a speedy recovery.

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News Network
March 9,2020

Kolkata, Mar 9: A diabetic man died in the isolation ward of a hospital in West Bengal's Murshidabad on Sunday, a day after he was admitted there with suspected symptoms of coronavirus following his return from Saudi Arabia.

According to doctors, he was admitted to the hospital with fever, cough and cold.

Though test results of his blood and swab samples for novel coronavirus were awaited, it can be said that he died probably of diabetes, Director of Health Services Ajay Chakraborty told PTI.

"The man was highly diabetic and was on insulin. He returned home from Saudi Arabia and had no money to take insulin for the last three to four days.

"He was also suffering from fever, cough and cold. He was admitted to the isolation ward of the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital yesterday and died today," the health services director said.

"We are waiting for the results of medical tests. The possibility of his death due to novel coronavirus infection is remote," he said.

However, precautions will be taken during the last rites of the victim according to the directives set by the central and state governments for patients who die of the virus, another senior official said.

"Family members will not be allowed to touch the body since the man had been suffering from cough and breathlessness. Those performing his last rites will be given protective gear, masks and gloves. Though test results are yet to be known, we do not want to take any chance," he said.

Meanwhile, the state health department has issued a directive to all private medical facilities to create a system for assessing all patients at admission allowing early recognition of possible COVID-19 infection and immediate isolation of patients with suspected novel coronavirus infection in an area separate from other patients.

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: India on Wednesday took strong exception to China claiming sovereignty over the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, saying its "exaggerated and untenable claims" are contrary to the understanding reached on the issue between the two sides.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava's response came after China claimed that the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh is a part of its territory.

"As we have conveyed earlier today, External Affairs Minister and the State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China had a phone conversation on recent developments in Ladakh," Srivastava said late Wednesday night.

"Both sides have agreed that the overall situation should be handled in a responsible manner and that the understandings reached between Senior Commanders on 6th June should be implemented sincerely. Making exaggerated and untenable claims is contrary to this understanding," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, India delivered a strong message to China that the "unprecedented" incident in the Galwan Valley will have a "serious impact" on the bilateral relationship and held the "pre-meditated" action by Chinese army directly responsible for the violence that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.

In a telephonic conversation, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Wang Wi India's protest in the "strongest terms" and said the Chinese side should reassess its actions and take corrective steps, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said the two sides agreed to "cool down the situation on the ground as soon as possible", and maintain peace and tranquillity in the border area in accordance with the agreement reached so far between the two countries.

The clash in Galwan Valley on Monday night is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La in 1967 when India lost around 80 soldiers while over 300 Chinese army personnel were killed.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India contests it.

Prior to the clashes, both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

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