Kalam was ready to make Sonia PM

June 30, 2012

Sonia_to_Kalam

New Delhi, June 30: President Abdul Kalam raised no objection to Sonia Gandhi becoming Prime Minister in 2004. Instead, he had been prepared to swear her in despite intense pressure from various parties and politicians, as that was the only “Constitutionally tenable” option available to him if the Congress chief had staked her claim.

Mr. Kalam says this in his forthcoming memoir, Turning Points, thus lifting the veil on an episode that has been wildly speculated upon, with right-wing sections till today convinced that he had dissuaded the Italian-born Ms. Gandhi from considering the prime ministership. In the book, the former President reveals that his office had readied a letter inviting Ms. Gandhi to form the government as Prime Minister but that she surprised him by nominating Manmohan Singh in her place: “This was definitely a surprise to me and the Rashtrapati Bhavan Secretariat had to rework the letter appointing Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister.”

The former President says he was inundated with “emails and letters from individuals, organisations and parties” asking him not to accept Ms. Gandhi’s prime ministerial claim, all of which he passed on to “various agencies in the government for their information without making any remarks.” Visiting political leaders added to the pressure. But these demands were “constitutionally untenable”, and if Ms. Gandhi “had made any claim for herself, I would have had no option but to appoint her.”

In the same chapter, Mr. Kalam discloses that he wrote out his resignation in the wake of the Supreme Court judgment holding unconstitutional the May 23, 2005 midnight dissolution of the Bihar Assembly. He says he dropped the move after the Prime Minister pleaded with him not to resign as the resulting furore might lead to the fall of the government. The President was away in Moscow when Dr. Singh called him twice and conveyed the Union Cabinet’s decision to dissolve the Assembly based on reports from the State Governor. Mr. Kalam writes that he quizzed the Prime Minister on the urgency to dissolve an Assembly that had been in suspended animation for six months but nonetheless signed the midnight proclamation because he was convinced the government had made up its mind. However, despite his explicit request, he felt the government did not properly present the President’s action in court, leading to adverse judicial remarks on the Cabinet, which is “mine and I have to take the responsibility.”


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News Network
June 3,2020

Jammu, Jun 3: A mob on Tuesday disrupted the last rites of a coronavirus victim in Jammu and Kashmir and forced his family members to flee with the half-burnt body, prompting intervention by the administration which later ensured the cremation at another place as per protocol.

A 72-year-old man, hailing from Doda district, became the fourth victim of the novel coronavirus to die in Jammu region. He breathed his last at the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital on Monday.

"We had set out for the funeral along with a revenue official and a medical team, and had lit the pyre at a cremation ground in Domana area when a large group of local residents appeared at the scene and disrupted the last rites," son of the deceased said.

Only close relatives of the deceased, including his wife and two sons, were present during the cremation. They had to flee with the half-burnt body in an ambulance to save their skin from the mob which pelted stones and attacked them with sticks.

"We had sought permission from the government to take the body to our home district for the last rites, but we were told that all necessary arrangements were in place, and that we would not face any trouble during the cremation," the victim's son said.

He also alleged that the security officials present at the scene were of no help.

Two policemen who were present there failed to act against the unruly crowd, while the accompanying revenue official went missing, he said.

"The ambulance driver and other staff from the hospital helped us a lot and managed to take us back to the GMC hospital with the body the government should have come out with a better plan to conduct the last rites of coronavirus victims, taking into consideration the past experience and problems encountered during the funeral of such victims," the victim's son said.

Later, the body was taken to a cremation ground at Bhagwati Nagar area of the city, where it was consigned to flames in the afternoon in presence of senior civil officials, including additional deputy commissioner and sub-divisional magistrate under tight security.

"My uncle was admitted in the hospital last week and died on Monday afternoon. He was suffering from various ailments, especially lungs and heart diseases. Before shifting him to GMC hospital Jammu, he underwent a coronavirus test in Doda which came negative," nephew of the deceased said.

However, he said, the victim's second test after his admission in the GMC hospital came positive on Sunday.

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News Network
June 6,2020

New Delhi, Jun 6: Military commanders of India and China are scheduled to meet today at Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), to discuss the ongoing dispute along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

The Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps of the Indian Army Commander Lieutenant Gen Harinder Singh will meet his Chinese equivalent Maj Gen Liu Lin, who is the commander of South Xinjiang Military Region of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) to address the ongoing tussle in Eastern Ladakh between the two countries over the heavy military build-up by the People's Liberation Army along the LAC there.

The two sides have held close to a dozen rounds of talks since the first week of May when the Chinese sent over 5,000 troops to the LAC.

On Friday, officials of India and China interacted through video-conferencing with the two sides agreeing that they should handle "their differences through peaceful discussion" while respecting each other's sensitivities and concerns and not allowing them to become disputes in accordance with the guidance provided by the leadership.

In the last few days, there has not been any major movement of the People's Liberation Army troops at the multiple sites where it has stationed itself along the LAC opposite Indian forces.

India and China have been locked in a dispute over the heavy military build-up by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) where they have brought in more than 5,000 troops along with the Eastern Ladakh sector.

The Chinese Army's intent to carry out deeper incursions was checked by the Indian security forces by quick deployment. The Chinese have also brought in heavy vehicles with artillery guns and infantry combat vehicles in their rear positions close to the Indian territory.

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January 29,2020

New Delhi, Jan 29: The Janata Dal (United) today expelled its vice-president Prashant Kishor and senior leader Pavan Kumar accusing them of "anti-party" activities.

Both the leaders have been attacking the party leadership over its pro-CAA stand.

The spat between Nitish Kumar and Kishor was out in the open yesterday when the former reminded the political strategist that he was inducted into the party on the recommendation of Union home minister Amit Shah.

It all began when Nitish, while talking to the media here, said, “I don’t have any problem if he (Kishor) wants to leave the party. But if he wants to stay, then he will have to follow the basic structure of the party.”

Varma had also questioned the JDU's alliance with the BJP in Delhi Assembly polls while Kishor has more than once voiced his differences with the party known on the issue of CAA and NRC.
 

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