Posts tagged ‘Pratibha Patil’

23/07/2012

* Twisted road to Raisina Hill

Times of India: “The mood was light as Pranab Mukherjee unwound at his residence on Thursday after polling ended. “Well sir, every time we send a Bill to Rashtrapati Bhavan for your approval, please don’t correct the commas, language and grammar,” joked a senior minister.

 

The compliment to Mukherjee’s reputation for reading the fine print raised a laugh. He could afford to be expansive with ministers Pawan Bansal and V Narayanasamy reporting that voting had gone to plan. But his journey to Rashtrapati Bhawan was not smooth. The last leg began about two months ago when Sonia Gandhi initiated discussions on who should replace Pratibha Patil. Given the unpredictable nature of allies like Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav, the task wasn’t easy. Some in the Congress argue Sonia could have preferred Hamid Ansari, others feel Mukherjee was on equal footing. PM Manmohan Singh pointed to his utility in government.”

via Twisted road to Raisina Hill – The Times of India.

19/07/2012

* Pranab Mukherjee tipped to win India presidential poll

BBC News: “Voting is under way in India to elect a new president.

The front-runner is the country’s former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. He is being challenged by opposition candidate, Purno Sangma.

The position is largely ceremonial, but the new president could play a decisive role in determining who forms the next government when national elections are held in 2014.

The results of the poll are expected to be announced on 22 July.

The winner will replace Pratibha Patil, who was India’s first woman president.

PRANAB MUKHERJEE

The veteran Congress party leader Pranab Mukherjee was born in 1935 in West Bengal.

He was a teacher, a journalist and a lawyer before being elected in 1969 to the upper house of parliament. He has served as finance, foreign and defence minister, and has held other influential positions in the government.

He fell out with the Congress leaders in 1986 and started his own party, but returned to the party fold two years later. He has served on the boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Indian presidents are not elected directly by the people but by an electoral college made up of members of parliament and state assemblies.”

via BBC News – Pranab Mukherjee tipped to win India presidential poll.

See also: Federal versus centralist rule

28/03/2012

* President Hu arrives in Delhi ahead of BRICS summit

The Hindu: “Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in New Delhi Wednesday on a two-day visit to participate in the BRICSsummit

BRICS summit participants: Prime Minister of I...

BRICS summit participants: Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh, President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, President of China Hu Jintao, President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, President of South Africa Jacob Zuma. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

and to hold wide-ranging bilateral talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.The Chinese President is accompanied by a high-profile delegation comprising Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, State Councillor Dai Bingguo, senior ministers and business leaders.

Mr. Hu will meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday before participating in the BRICS summit on Thursday. Mr. Hu, along with the presidents of Russia, Brazil and South Africa, will attend a banquet hosted by President Pratibha Patil in the evening.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold talks with the Chinese President on Thursday, on various issues including bridging the trade deficit and fast-tracking the new confidence-building measures. The two leaders are expected to declare 2012 as the year of India-China friendship and unveil initiatives to bolster cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts.

India is expected is to raise the issue of huge imbalance in bilateral trade which has exceeded $70 billion, with the surplus heavily in China’s favour.”

via The Hindu : News / National : Hu arrives in Delhi ahead of BRICS summit.

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India