Disruptions on issues such as Telangana, atrocities on Sri Lankan Tamils, sub-quota for minorities, and shortage of fertilisers on Monday marred President Pratibha Patil's Address to the joint sitting of Parliament.
There were some awkward moments before the departure of President Pratibha Patil from Beijing to the central Chinese city of Luoyang on Saturday when a member of her entourage, Rashtriya Janata Dal Member of Parliament Raghuvansh Prasad, did not turn up at the airport on time, making her wait for nearly 20 minutes.Though the scheduled departure was slated for 9 am local time, the President arrived at the airport at 8.50 am for the last farewell formalities.
Rashtrapati Bhavan has introduced a new initiative, the E-Upahaar auction, to monetise valuable assets for a social cause, in alignment with a broader governmental policy, championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of auctioning gifts received by dignitaries to fund welfare programmes.
Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation marks the third instance of a vice president resigning mid-term in India. The article looks at past instances of vice presidents who resigned.
Soon after paying her tributes, the President posed for photographs with children and gladly interacted with media persons.
President Pratibha Patil on Saturday spoke to veteran actor Dilip Kumar and wished him a speedy recovery. The 86-year-old thespian was admitted to the Indraprasth Apollo Hospital late on Thursday night."His wife Saira Bano was with the actor when President Patil called him up and made inquiries about his health. She sent flowers to the ailing actor. She also wished him a speedy recovery so that he is able to celebrate Id at his residence," a senior official said.
President Pratibha Patil on Monday addressed Parliament for the last time as President when she flagged off the Budget session. Here's the text of her speech
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.
President Pratibha Patil cancelled the appointment of P J Thomas on Monday as Central Vigilance Commissioner, 11 days after the Supreme Court quashed his selection by a high-power committee headed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Wrapping up the last foreign tour before her tenure comes to an end on July 25, President Pratibha Patil returned to New Delhi on Tuesday after a nine-day visit to the South Africa and Seychelles.
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.
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.
President Pratibha Patil's wanderlust has cost the public exchequer a whopping Rs 205 crore on her foreign visits, surpassing the record of all her predecessors.
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.
Glimpses from the trust vote debate in Parliament.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Expecting the economy to slow down in the current fiscal amid global recession, President Pratibha Patil said the new government will focus on adversely-affected sectors like infrastructure, exports, SMEs, and housing to restore the growth momentum.
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.
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.
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.
President Droupadi Murmu, the Republic's second lady Head of State, met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the nation's first lady Rashtrapati, at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.
President Pratibha Patil on Saturday said the commitment of China's top leadership, including her counterpart Hu Jintao, to strengthen Sino-Indian ties was evident during the 'wide-ranging and constructive' talks she had with them. In her first public engagement in Shanghai, China's gleaming business hub, Patil said India and China enjoy a thriving trade and economic relationship, vibrant cultural ties and also greater people-to-people exchanges.
President Pratibha Patil yet again came out with a strong defence of her foreign tours, saying she was forced to go public on the issue despite government clarifications.
A post-retirement residence for President Pratibha Patil has been finalised in Pune by the government, after she had to give up an accommodation following a controversy.
President Pratibha Patil's maiden state visit to Mexico began on an unpleasant note as one of her important engagements -- an address to the joint session of Parliament -- was today cancelled at the last minute in view of the blockade of the House by Left-leaning legislators. Despite intense last-minute negotiations, the Mexican officials informed the President's Secretariat about the cancellation of her address officially.
President Pratibha Patil asserted that the country is determined to create a secure environment in J&K to defeat the divisive designs of terrorism and violence, while inaugurating the Institute of Kashmir Studies at the Kashmir University on Monday in Srinagar.
President Pratibha Patil discussed bilateral issues of mutual interest and situation in the region with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Thursday.
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.
Patil, the first Indian Head of State to visit China in a decade, took up the issue of the growing trade imbalance.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday congratulated Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on his re-election and expressed confidence that the country would find lasting peace in which all communities would live with dignity and harmony.
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