President Pratibha Patil on Monday cautioned Members of Parliament not to voice their dissensions in Parliament at the cost of serious debate and legislations. She maintained that they should keep abreast of new developments in technology and information explosion while making laws.
Soon after paying her tributes, the President posed for photographs with children and gladly interacted with media persons.
The President will give away the Fakharuddin Ali Ahmed Award to noted film personality Shabana Azmi and journalist Shekhar Gupta at a function to be organized at the Pragjyoti ITA Cultural Complex, Machkhowa in Guwahati on Sunday evening.
"It's a normal diplomatic practice that a visiting dignitaries occasionally takes members of his/her family on visiting trips. Hospitality for such visiting dignitaries in such cases is usually provided by the host government. It is not abnormal," official spokesperson in MEA Syed Akbaruddin told reporters.
Rubbishing the alleged reports of President Pratibha Patil 'grabbing' land much in excess of her entitlement to build her post retirement home in Pune, the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday night issued a detailed statement terming the media reports as factually incorrect and malicious.
Notwithstanding the chill in bilateral relations, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani have sent their New Year greetings to their Indian counterparts.Zardari and Gilani have sent their greetings to President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through the Ministry of External Affairs, sources said on Wednesday.
In an alarming disclosure, police on Tuesday said they intercepted a car displaying fake national emblem, moving along the route that President Pratibha Patil was to take in Pune on Saturday night. The two suspects in the vehicle, however, had managed to flee, they said.
She said her candidature would 'inspire' other women and help in their empowerment.
With an eye on increasing south-south cooperation, President Pratibha Patil ended her maiden visit to Latin American countries during which nine agreements were signed with Chile, Brazil and Mexico and a special emphasis was laid on increasing the connectivity. The visit of 73-year-old Patil was also used to muster support for India's candidature for the permanent membership to the United Nations Security Council.
On the eve of demitting her office, President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday highlighted the scourge of corruption saying it is the enemy of good governance and asked government and people to collectively fight it.
Ahead of the foreign secretary- level talks, India said on Monday that it was ready to explore a "meaningful" relationship with Pakistan if it seriously addressed the threat of terrorism and stops terror acts against this country.
Glimpses from the trust vote debate in Parliament.
The President's approval was required for the measure since the Lok Sabha made some amendments to The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011 before its passage.
Seventy six-year-old Dr Singh drove to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday morning from his 7, Race Course Road residence to greet Patil on the occasion, a PMO spokesperson said.
Thirteen days before her tenure comes to an end, Pratibha Patil on Thursday looked back on her five years as President with a sense of satisfaction, dismissing as 'ill-informed' the criticism of the expenditure on her foreign tours.
The President, while addressing the concluding ceremony of celebrations for 150 years of the Income Tax Department, also made a strong case for tightening laws to book tax evaders.
After five years of stay in the 340-room Presidential mansion, Pratibha Patil on Wednesday moved to a four bedroom bungalow here at a high-security area in the heart of the capital.
Patil said that it was a 'distinct honour' to be a candidate to occupy the highest office of the world's largest democracy.
The Congress leadership is caught in a bind over Jairam Ramesh. While his support for a major Chinese telecom firm is being taken seriously by the party leadership, what has complicated the issue is the visit of President Pratibha Patil to China from May 26 on a five-day visit.
After taking off in the frontline Sukhoi jet and riding a battle tank, President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday had a tryst with the Navy as she created history by becoming the first woman head of state to sail in a warship and review an impressive naval steampast.
Archana Dutta will take over from S M Khan, who served as the press secretary to former President APJ Abdul Kalam
President Pratibha Patil was on Tuesday accorded a red-carpet welcome by British Queen Elizabeth II, marked by pomp and pageantry, as she arrived at the imposing Windsor Castle in a stage carriage pulled by six white horses.
Under fire from the Opposition over the delay in carrying out the death sentence of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the government on Tuesday put the onus on President Pratibha Patil saying a decision on the issue has to be taken by her.
Patil, who is visiting the state for the first time after she assumed office as President, went to a bunker located at 9,600 ft altitude and interacted with army officers and jawans. "I am so delighted to visit this very important and strategic post. I simply admire courage and morale of the jawans who are keeping vigil on the border day and night in such a hazardous area and climatic conditions," Patil wrote in visitors book at Tangdhar.
Weeks before stepping down from as President of India, Pratibha Patil, the first woman to become Head of State, tells Kalyani Shankar that she would like to be remembered as the President who worked for the welfare of the people
In a first visit by an Indian head of state to China in a decade, President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday left for Beijing. Besides Beijing, the six-day state visit will take the President to Loyang, where she will inaugurate the famous White Horse Buddhist temple, and Shanghai, where she will visit India and China Pavilions at the Shanghai Expo 2010 and address members of the India-China business forum.
The first President born after Independence takes office.
President Pratibha Patil has approved the law giving her a 300 per cent hike in salary taking her monthly pay cheque to Rs 150,000 from Rs 50,000 per month in the New Year.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had sent in a request to the President for visiting Baramati in Maharashtra to see the all round development made in the areas of agriculture, irrigation and town planning.
President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday indicated that she will seek China's support for India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council during her six-day visit to the country, the first by an Indian head of state in a decade.
Taking on Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj for recommending president's rule, the National Democratic Alliance on Monday decided to meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to demand his dismissal and asked Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to parade all his supporting MLAs in front of the president.
Giving awards to thirty disabled people for their achievements on the occasion of the International Day of Disabled, President Pratibha Patil said, "Recently the Maharashtra government has introduced a special insurance scheme for the disabled. I would urge the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to look into introducing such a scheme in the rest of the country".
Many ordinary citizens are drawn to by a sense of history and India's remarkable journey from bondage to freedom which culminated in this monumental building.
Five years since he supported UPA's Presidential nominee Pratibha Patil after breaking ranks with National Democratic Alliance, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Thursday appeared having second thoughts on the issue.
With Jammu and Kashmir assembly slated to discuss a resolution seeking clemency for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, a Bharatiya Janata Party youth wing delegation on Sunday met President Pratibha Patil and said the death sentence awarded to the terrorist should be carried out or it would set a bad precedent.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra have been conferred with the rank of honourary Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army by President Pratibha Patil.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders met President Pratibha Patil on Thursday to complain about "subversion" of Parliament over Lokpal issue and sought her intervention to re-convene the House to enable voting in Rajya Sabha on the crucial bill.
After a rousing tour to the United Nations, the members of the Sulabh International called on President Pratibha Patil at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan on Friday.
P J Thomas, whose appointment as Chief Vigilance Commissioner was cancelled by President Pratibha Patil after the Supreme Court held it as illegal, has moved the Delhi high court seeking stay of the appointment of his successor who is being sworn in on Thursday.
This will be the first political delegation Pratibha would be receiving after taking over as the head of state from her predecessor A P J Abdul Kalam.
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