Inflation has remained stubbornly close to double-digit levels during the first quarter of the current fiscal.
'If democracy has succeeded, it is largely due to perfect conduct of elections by election commissioners starting from Sukumar Sen to the present election commissioners'
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday hit out at Opposition parties for stalling the proceedings of Parliament, after their demand for a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the spectrum scandal was not accepted by the government.Reacting to a question on whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make a statement on the resignation of Telecom Minister A Raja over the 2G spectrum scam, Pranab lost his cool.
Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy's remarks that Mahatma Gandhi would have turned corrupt in the present day politics on Monday drew sharp reaction from leaders including Gandhian Anna Hazare, who wondered how the country could eliminate corruption if leaders talk like this.
According to Mukherjee, the mere physical presence of the prime minister in Parliament makes a tremendous difference to the functioning of this institution.
"My consultations with President (Rajkeswur) Purryag have been frank and cordial. We reviewed the co-operation between our governments and discussed regional and global issues of common interest," President Pranab Mukherjee wrote in the visitors' Book after meeting the President of Mauritius.
Amid souring ties, the president visited Beijing for three days. On his return to India, a hope of better ties has arisen, says senior correspondent R Rajagopalan, who travelled with Pranab Mukherjee to the Asian superpower.
In an apparent fall-out of the domestic political standoff over war crimes trial and consequent violence, opposition leader and Bangladesh National Party Chairperson Khaleda Zia cancelled her meeting with visiting Indian President Pranab Mukherjee that was scheduled for Monday, casting a shadow on the latter's maiden foreign visit since taking over the highest constitutional post seven months ago.
Launching a broadside against Anna Hazare who has vowed to go on a fast from Tuesday over the Lokpal issue, Union Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday alleged that the activist is "challenging" the Constitution and Parliament authority and such a step is "not acceptable".
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said the new President Pranab Mukherjee had accepted his invitation and might undertake a visit to the state after August 15.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has invited President Pranab Mukherjee to visit the state, Railway Minister Mukul Roy said on Wednesday.
Brushing aside speculations of tension with ally Trinamool Congress, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said the two parties would form an alliance to fight the 2011 Assembly election.
The presidential nominee of the United Progressive Alliance, Pranab Mukherjee is set to have a rewarding visit to Jammu and Kashmir on July 15.
Despite an uneasy relationship between the Congress and Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee has reached out to the mother of the rebel leader to seek her party's support in the election. Mukherjee, the ruling United Progressive Alliance's nominee, spoke to Jagan's mother Vijayamma a few days ago, requesting that her party support him in the July 19 Presidential election.
The Indian Statistical Institute on Monday said that Pranab Mukherjee resigned as chairman of the ISI council on June 20, much before filing his nomination as the presidential candidate, though his name was still on its website. "Pranab babu has already submitted his resignation as ISI council chairman on June 20. But by mistake, Mukherjee's name continues to be on the ISI's official website. It still consists of names of several retired and veterans," said an ISI official.
For the 2009-10 fiscal, Pranab said, he expects the economy to grow by 7.2 per cent.
The issue of terrorism and security for travellers between the two countries is believed to have dominated the agenda of the meeting.
Signs of wider support to Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential race were visible on Saturday, with Janata Dal-United leader Shivanand Tiwari making a strong pitch for a "graceful send off to the respected leader."
Communist Party of India general secretary A B Bardhan and national secretary D Raja will go to Kolkata and represent their party at the cremation.
Amongst the first actions of Pranab Mukherjee after becoming the President was to appoint Omita Paul as his secretary in place of Christy Fernandes, who was the secretary to outgoing President Pratibha Patil.
The President has begun studying Constitutional and Presidential precedents in anticipation of a fractured mandate in next year's general election, reveals R Prema.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday appointed six new governors for Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and Jharkhand.
A Trinamool Congress leader on Sunday said UPA Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee had all along been a "close friend" of the Marxists from the beginning of his political career to its end.
However, in reality, Mukherjee neither wore a cap nor did he give any salute.
There is no one who can step into Mukherjee's shoes and multiple leaders may be needed to fulfill his roles in the Congress and the government led by it, says Neerja Chowdhury
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on Friday refuted the suggestion that Pranab Mukherjee was named among the 15 "corrupt" ministers only because he became the UPA's Presidential candidate.
Endorsing the Economic Survey's emphasis on the farm and the infrastructure sectors for achieving higher economic growth, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said inflation and widening current account deficit remain major areas of concern.
The Telugu Desam Party indicated that it may support United Progressive Alliance candidate Pranab Mukherjee in next month's Presidential election.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's security is being beefed up after the ruling party announced his name as their candidate for the Presidential polls. There will now be a heavy security at his house and the traffic flow will not be restricted for one month.
'Was there an element of orchestration between Mukherjee and Mohan Bhagwat about their speeches to the effect that the former would leave out any reference to Muslims while the RSS chief will not talk about a Hindu rashtra?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
'Rashtrapati Ji, it has been an honour to work with you, as your Prime Minister,' Modi said.
"The puja is around 100 years old. Pranab's grandfather late Jangaleswar Mukherjee started the puja," said Goutam Roy, who has been looking after puja arrangements for the last couple of years.
As West Bengal gears up for the April-May Assembly polls, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee on Monday joined the Congress and is likely to be fielded as the party's candidate for the coming election.
Making a passionate plea to lawmakers to avoid disruption of Parliament and state assemblies, President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday called for "collective thinking" by political parties on the issue. He also asked them to ponder whether there was any need to amend existing rules to ensure smooth functioning of the House.
Years before the Supreme Court struck down as 'unconstitutional' an opaque political funding tool that allowed individuals and companies to donate money to political parties anonymously and without any limits, the then finance minister Arun Jaitley -- the prime mover of electoral bonds -- had termed them legitimate and transparent.
The President later wrote in the Visitors' Book that "the National Martyrs memorial symbolises Bangladesh's struggle for justice, emancipation and independence. It reminds us of the valiant sacrifices made by innumerable men, women and children who fought for their homeland -- Sonar Bangla. I pay my deep respect and homage to all those martyrs."
On the occasion, the PM presented a memento to the outgoing president.
On the eve of the winter session of the Parliament, which commenced on Tuesday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee invited Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari for lunch. Mukherjee's overture was clearly to pacify the irate Opposition and ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament. But will the Congress's strategy save the winter session?
