An emotional day for Pranab as CWC bids farewell

June 25, 2012

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New Delhi, June 25: The Congress today bid a warm farewell to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, poised to become the country’s President, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the veteran leader will be missed.

At a special meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), party chief Sonia Gandhi personally bid farewell to the chief trouble-shooter of the party and the UPA and expressed confidence that he would win the July 19 Presidential election with a huge margin.

‘A true congressman’

A visibly emotional Mukherjee, who had held a number of posts in the party and the government, said he has got much more from the party than what he had given.

He said he always considered himself as a true Congressman and did whatever is good for the party.

Mr. Mukherjee recalled his long association with the CWC and thanked the party for nominating him for the President’s post.

Mr. Mukherjee will file nomination for the Presidential poll on June 28, AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters after the CWC meeting.

He is expected to resign from the government and the party tomorrow.

Ms. Gandhi hailed Mr. Mukherjee as the senior-most member of the CWC and said it was a matter of great pleasure that the UPA has made him a Presidential candidate.

Dr. Singh said Mr. Mukherjee’s absence will be felt as he discharged many duties in the government.

The informal CWC meeting called to felicitate Mr. Mukherjee was attended by 20 of the 26 members, including Permanent Invitees.

Among those who spoke on the occasion were Defence Minister A. K. Antony, and senior party leaders Motilal Vora, S. C. Jamir, R. K. Dhawan, Mohsina Kidwai.

Karan, Digvijay absent

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh was not present at the CWC meeting. Karan Singh, who was one of the aspirants for the Presidential post, was also not present.

Asked about his absence, Digvijay Singh said he was in Madhya Pradesh to attend a private function and had accordingly informed the party leadership.

On Mr. Digvijay’s absence, Mr. Dwivedi said he was among the six leaders who could not attend the meeting.

Digvijay Singh had courted controversy by dubbing Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee as “immature” and “erratic” over her opposition to Mr. Mukherjee’s candidature drawing instant disapproval from the party.

Key player at CWC

Mr. Mukherjee became a member of the CWC in 1978 and has been a key player in the top decision making body of the party.

Sweets, including popular Bengal delicacy ‘sandesh’, were distributed at the meeting as Congress leaders wished the 76-year-old leader a good innings ahead.

Known for his razor sharp intellect, Mr. Mukherjee, a quintessential Congressman, is variously described as a walking encyclopaedia, chronicler of Congress history, expert in matters of Constitution and governance and a stickler for rules in Parliament.

Mr. Mukherjee is expected to launch his campaign for the Presidential polls from Chennai on June 30 and then likely to visit Hyderabad and Bangalore the next day.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is coordinating Mr. Mukherjee’s poll campaign, including the process of filing the nomination. An informal coordination committee has also been set up.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Jammu, Jan 25: People in Jammu and Kashmir expressed happiness over the restoration of mobile data services and internet access through fixed-line across the Union Territory on Saturday.

Speaking to ANI Jitendra Sharma, a resident of Jammu said, "The government has taken a good decision. People had been facing hardship for a long period and I think it will improve further."

"It is a big relief to people. People can finish their pending work. I hope that 4G services will also be resumed soon," said a resident of Kashmir.

The internet speed is restricted to 2G only.

"Access shall be limited only to whitelisted sites and not to any social media applications allowing peer to peer communication and virtual private network applications. Directions shall be effective from January 25 and will remain in force till January 31," the statement by the government read.

Earlier on January 15, 2G services were reinstated in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, and Udhampur for white-listed sites.

The Central government had suspended the internet in the region following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 last year, which conferred special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and its bifurcation into two Union Territories -- Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

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News Network
January 28,2020

Mumbai, Jan 28: Flag carrier Air India has kept one of its 423-seater jumbo planes ready in Mumbai for the evacuation of Indian citizens from Wuhan in China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in that country, an official source said on Tuesday.

The airline is awaiting necessary approvals from the ministries of external affairs and health to operate the special flight, the source said. The health ministry's nod is required because the operating crew has to fly in a virus outbreak territory.

"We have kept a Boeing 747-400 ready in Mumbai to operate an evacuation flight to China whenever we get a go ahead from the government," the source said.

Some 250 Indians are to be evacuated.

At a meeting of top secretaries called by the cabinet secretary on Monday, the government decided to be prepared for possible evacuation of Indian nationals in Wuhan.

Accordingly, Ministry of External Affairs will make a request to the Chinese authorities for evacuation of Indian nationals, mostly students, stuck in Wuhan city. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Health will make arrangements for transport and quarantine facilities respectively, an official release said on Monday.

Wuhan along 12 other cities have been completely sealed by the Chinese authorities to stop the virus from spreading. The death toll climbed to 80 with 2,744 confirmed cases.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

New Delhi, May 17: With the highest-ever spike of close to 5,000 cases in the past 24 hours, the COVID-19 count in India has crossed 90,000 on Sunday.

With an increase of 4,987 COVID-19 cases being reported in the last 24 hours, the count has reached 90,927, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of active cases in the country stands at 53,946 today, while 2,872 deaths have been recorded due to the infection so far, with one patient having migrated. 120 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

However, on the positive side, close to 4,000 patients have also been cured and discharged in the past 24 hours, taking the tally of cured patients to 34,108.

With 30,706 confirmed cases, Maharashtra remains the worst-affected by the infection in the country.

It is followed by Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, with 10,988 and 10,585 cases, respectively.
The national capital, with 9,333 cases, is also one of the regions which is badly affected by the infection.

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