The discussion on the joint statement would start after a special discussion on the issue of price rise of essential commodities, an issue that led to protests from several opposition parties in both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday.
"From June 1 to June 6, on an average, we used to receive 378 requests everyday on our website 'Join RSS' at the national level. On June 7, the day Mukherjee addressed our Shiksha Varg, we received 1,779 requests. After June 7, we have been receiving 1,200-1,300 requests everyday," Roy told reporters, adding that 40 per cent of the requests were from Bengal.
Rejecting Pakistan's contentions, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday that there had been no escalation of tensions on the part of India and that its military movements were routine winter exercises.
He pointed out that wages under the NREGA have been increased from Rs 61 to Rs 100 which would lead to earnings of Rs 10,000 annually 'irrespective of qualification'. Mukherjee, who is the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief urged party workers to pinpoint failures in implementation of the scheme at the block and panchayat levels.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed disappointment about the outcome of a meeting with Union Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on the financial condition of the cash-strapped state.
When a group of pro-Telangana Members of Parliament went to meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday to "discuss" the separate state issue, Mukherjee snapped at them and said: "Please don't waste my time. There is nothing more to discuss now."
Briefing MPs on the Lokpal issue at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Mukherjee told them that while the fundamental rights of a person to demonstrate was important, the government was also duty bound to save a human life. Voicing concern over the bad press the government was getting on the Lokpal issue, Congress members of Parliament wanted it to be proactive in apprising people about the truth of the matter.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that the demand for smaller states does not mean that new states would be created everywhere.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday sought to downplay the controversy over austerity measures that had kicked up a row in the cabinet meeting on Thursday saying it could be due to some misunderstanding.
Hours after his angry outburst led to an hour-long adjournment of Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday expressed his "regret" for losing temper, saying it was not appropriate.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that G-20 countries, a club of developed and developing nations, have agreed to continue with the stimulus packages till the global economy fully recovers.
The headline inflation declined to 9.11 per cent in November against 9.73 per cent in the previous month.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said that the economy was expected to revive in the second half of the year on the back of the latest Index of Industrial Production numbers, return of foreign institutional investors to the markets over the last two months and the normal functioning of the credit markets
Regarding cross-border terrorism, Mukherjee agreed that in spite of the fencing, infiltration of terrorists from across the border had shown a sharp upswing in the last two months. \n
Lamenting that India's higher education institutions are facing problem of quality, President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said the country was far behind China and the United States in terms of innovation and pitched for 'drastic action' to reform the system.
The long meeting between President Pranab and the PM comes amid a heightened threat perception that the UPA government may not be able to complete its term, says Renu Mittal
Justifying the government's austerity drive, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday the restrictions on foreign visits and other expenses are aimed at curbing wasteful expenditure and containing fiscal deficit.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday sought to downplay the battle of attrition between Indian Army chief General V K Singh and the government.
He is also scheduled to meet US Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and Rumsfeld.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh late on Tuesday night and is understood to have briefed him about his talks with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
As the problem of job losses in the domestic economy continues to grow, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will again take up the issue of "protectionist policies" by advanced countries during his G-20 tour. The Union government feels that these policies will add to the massive job losses in the country, especially in labour intensive sectors engaged in exports.
Criticising the US for resorting to protectionism in the wake of the global financial crisis, India on Friday warned such a "negative" trend will have a cascading effect on major economies and undermine efforts to overcome the downturn in the shortest possible time.
Elements in Pakistan responsible for Mumbai attacks according to preliminary information with us, says External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to talk to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday on the Mumbai attacks, Mukherjee added.
The Finance Ministry on Friday said that no bugging device was found within its premises, including the office of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and the suspicious adhesive discovered was chewing gum-like material.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has decided to skip the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Foreign Ministerial meeting in Colombo on Friday and in his absence his deputy E Ahamed would represent India at the meet.
"To achieve 9 per cent growth (it) will require little longer time", Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, participating in a function organised by a private TV channel. Mukherjee said this fiscal 'we will have six per cent plus growth.'
The first task before Mukherjee, who was also in charge of the finance minister in the previous government, would be to present the budget for 2009-10 and spell out policies and priorities of the new United Progressive Alliance government. The minister at his office was received at by key finance ministry functionaries, including finance secretary Ashok Chawla, revenue secretary P V Bhide, expenditure secretary Sushma Nath and chief economic advisor Arvind Virmani.
The Taliban forces operating out of Pakistan's Swat region pose a common threat to India and the United States, besides the host country, America's special envoy Richard Holbrooke suggested in New Delhi on Monday. The envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, said he had sought the Indian leadership's assessment of the situation.
Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said Indian diplomacy needed to acquire an economic perspective to its thinking and strategic approach, for furthering the country's interests in the changing global order.
Recalling the steps taken by the government to deal with the issue, Mukherjee said, "Our efforts to tackle this menace have been increasing (and) we are committed to the goal of achieving zero tolerance against corruption."
The Finance Minister said government set targets assuming normal conditions.
In an affront to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has refused to relieve an Indian Administrative Service officer he wanted as his private secretary in what appears to be fast soiling relations between the two since differences cropped up over Teesta river deal with Bangladesh.
The hike in prices of petroleum goods led to protests in several parts of the country and many state governments announced the withdrawal of value added tax on petroleum products to lessen the impact of the hike on the common man.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday strongly refuted observations by US think-tanks, the government and industry that India has gone slow on economic reforms and insisted that a series of reforms are in the process, which will lead to the next round of growth.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will embark on a visit to China from June 4 which Beijing hopes would promote "mutual political trust" and deepen "practical cooperation" between the two neighbours. Mukherjee would hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi on better implementing the consensus on developing the partnership of strategic cooperation.
Government on Friday ruled out replacing its Lokpal Bill with another, saying it will be better to have amendments to the one already introduced.
In the first major breakthrough in the week-long standoff, the government on Tuesday appointed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as its negotiator for talks with Anna Hazare and his aides over their demand for a strong Lokpal. Announcing the government's initiative, Hazare's close aide Arvind Kejriwal said the activist will decide as to who will represent his team in the talks with Mukherjee.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that the leaders of the civil society movement for a Lokpal Bill have given an impression as if they have become legislators.
He said with an aim to make the FDI policy user friendly, all prior regulations and guidelines have been consolidated into a comprehensive document.
He says current arrangement is working fine.
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