Pranab Mukherjee too valuable for Congress to be made President?

May 4, 2012
Pranab-Mukherjee200x230New Delhi, May 4: The Congress's dilemma over whether to sponsor Pranab Mukherjee in the race for Rashtrapati Bhavan was out in the open on Thursday when a party spokesperson hurriedly withdrew her comment about the veteran finance minister's indispensability for the government.

The spokesperson, Renuka Chaudhary, kicked up a virtual storm when she told reporters, "It will never be easy to leave Pranabda. He is such a valuable person for us in the party. His contribution to the party cannot be even measured. For him, it will not seem to be fair but he has such an active political mind. He is too involved and knows politics so well."

A gushing Chaudhary went on to call Mukherjee a valuable guide, in what was almost universally interpreted as signalling the Congress's reluctance to spare its chief troubleshooter for a non-political sinecure.

The lavish commentary, however, was immediately rolled back, with Chaudhary taking pains to emphasize that her genuine expression of admiration for Mukherjee's skills had been misunderstood and twisted out of context.

When asked about the "confusion" over names doing the rounds, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said, "There is no confusion. Have patience. There is still time." Although stating the obvious, the remark could have served to reassure that nobody has been ruled out yet as a candidate.

Chaudhary's retraction came amid indications of the finance minister's unhappiness over what he saw as an attempt to indulge him into withdrawing his claim for the top constitutional job.

Tired of being passed over for the prized trophies, starting from prime ministership to the stewardship of the home ministry, Mukherjee is learnt to have made it clear to the leadership that he would like to retreat to the sidelines rather than put up with career stagnation.

Sources said the finance minister reacted to Chaudhary's lavish prose by making it clear that he was not amused. "He saw it as an attempt to spoil his chances," acknowledged a senior Congress source.

Mukherjee is locked in a dead heat with Vice-President Hamid Ansari for Congress endorsement for Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Congress has been unable to take a call. It is appreciative of Mukherjee's hurt as well as of the need to assuage it but the party fears that the departure of the UPA's principal firefighter will leave the government vulnerable. There are also worries that the prime minister, now at the fag end of a surprisingly long tenure and sure of not heading UPA-3, may start disengaging from Sonia Gandhi's political project just when the Congress chief is hoping for a fresh burst of energy before the 2014 polls.

The bind was underlined once again on Thursday evening when Sonia refrained from spelling out the party's choice when she discussed presidential elections with Trinamool boss and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

At the official Congress briefing, spokesman Rashid Alvi said he could not comment on candidates since the consultations were still underway but added that Renuka Chaudhary was correct in saying that "Mukherjee is important for party, parliament and government".

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News Network
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: The Delhi government has asked district magistrates to release 2,446 Tablighi Jamaat members from quarantine centres and ensure that they do not stay in any other place except their homes.

The district magistrates will explore the possibility of sending those Tablighi members, who belong to other states, in buses to their designated places in accordance with social distancing norms and other protocols, DDMA Special CEO K S Meena said in a letter to deputy commissioners (administration).

As man as 567 foreign attendees of the congregation held in Delhi's Nizamuddin area in March, will be handed over to the police, Meena said.

"They (foreign Jamaat attendees) will be handed over to police in connection with several violations like visa violation," a government official said on Saturday.

Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain had recently ordered the release of Tablighi members who have completed their required quarantine period in centres and tested negative for COVID-19.

"Out of such people belonging to Delhi, who could be released as per prescribed guidelines should be issued passes to travel from the quarantine centres.

"Under no circumstances, the aforesaid persons should be allowed to stay in any other places including mosques," Meena said in the letter.

In respect of those Tablighi members belonging to other states, it should be ensured by the nodal officer and the area ACP that such people reach their place of residence, he also said.

"The DC should also inform the respective resident commissioner of their states in respect of each and every movement of such persons from Delhi," the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Special CEO said.

Thousands of Tablighi Jamaat members had been taken out of its Markaz (centre) in Nizamuddin, where they had gathered for a religious congregation, and quarantined as the area became a major hotspot after a number of members tested positive for coronavirus.

On March 31, the Delhi Police's Crime Branch had lodged an FIR against seven people, including Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, on a complaint by Station House Officer, Nizamuddin, for holding the congregation.

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News Network
July 20,2020

New Delhi, Jul 20: Alleging that 2,426 companies have "looted" people's savings to the tune of Rs 1.47 lakh crore from banks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has asked if the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government will conduct a probe into it to punish those guilty.

"2,426 companies looted 1.47 lakh crore rupees of people's savings from banks. Will this government investigate this loot and punish the culprits?" Gandhi said on Twitter, without elaborating.

"Or will it allow them to flee like Nirav and Lalit Modi?" he asked.

Gandhi's attack came after media reports claimed that the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) had released a list of 2,426 borrower accounts that have been categorised as “wilful defaulters” with dues amounting to Rs 1,47,350 crore to the banking system.

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News Network
March 12,2020

New Delhi, Mar 12: The Supreme Court told the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday that as of now, there was no law that could back their action of putting up roadside posters of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests in Lucknow.

An apex court bench refused to stay the March 9 Allahabad High Court order directing the Yogi Adityanath administration to remove the posters.

The top court, which grilled the Uttar Pradesh government for putting up such posters in public, described the plea as a matter that needed "further elaboration and consideration".

A vacation bench of justices U U Lalit and Aniruddha Bose said a "bench of sufficient strength" would consider next week the Uttar Pradesh government's appeal against the Allahabad High Court order directing the state administration to remove the posters of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests.

It directed the apex court registry to put up the case file before Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde so that a "bench of sufficient strength can be constituted at the earliest to hear and consider" the case next week.

During the hearing, the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, that it was a matter of "great importance".

It asked Mehta whether the state government had the power to put up such posters.

The top court, however, said there was no doubt that action should be taken against rioters and they should be punished.

Mehta told the court that the posters were put up as a "deterrent" and the hoardings only said that these persons were liable to pay for their alleged acts during the violence.

Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for former IPS officer S R Darapuri whose poster has also been affixed in Lucknow, told the bench that the state was duty-bound to show the authority of law backing its action.

He said the action of the Uttar Pradesh government amounted to a "mega blanket" approach of naming and shaming these persons without final adjudication and it was an open invitation to common men to lynch them as the posters also had their addresses and photographs.

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