A Citizen's Delegation, which met President Pratibha Patil on Monday, informed her that in the riot-hit district of Kandhamal in Orissa, as many as 50,000 people were hiding in forests or had taken refuge in camps, to escape the rampaging mob of VHP activists.Earlier in the day, the Orissa government had claimed that the situation in Kadhamal and other riot-hit areas in the state were under control.The delegation was led by filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.
The President, who is the first Indian head of state to visit United Kingdom in last 20 years, said the British experience of public-private partnership and public sector capacity building would be especially useful to India.
The Mumbai terror attack was discussed during the State Banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth in the honour of President Pratibha Patil, with the British monarch paying tributes to the 'courage and steadfastness' shown by the Indian people, in the face of the appalling incident."We are mindful that in a month's time, India will mark the anniversary of the appalling terrorist attacks on Mumbai, in which so many Indians were killed," the Queen said during the Banquet.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Thursday said his ministerial colleague Sunil Deshmukh would face disciplinary action by the party if he contests against Rajendrasingh Shekhawat, son of President Pratibha Patil, in the October 13 assembly elections.
T D Dogra, who heads Forensic Medicines and Toxicology Department and is next to Venugopal in seniority, was appointed AIIMS' acting chief.
Amid speculation that the candidature of Rajendra Shekhawat, son of President Pratibha Patil, has been cleared for Maharashtra Assembly polls, the state Congress leadership left it to the party high command to decide the issue of tickets to kins of senior leaders.
The office of Wing Commander Vikram Dutta, which is located in the health club of the Presidential Estate, was burgled on Wednesday and the thieves walked away with his computer, police officials said.
With the income tax department alleging former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan's kin possess black money, ex-CJI J S Verma on Sunday demanded that Balakrishnan should quit as National Human Rights Commission chief and if he does not, President Pratibha Patil should intervene to get him removed from the post.
Alleging that China and Pakistan have 'a strategy to invade India', Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to give an assurance to Parliament that the country is safe from a possible external aggression.
Major Mohit Sharma and Major D Sreeram Kumar have been awarded the country's highest peace time gallantry award Ashok Chakra.Major Sharma will be decorated with the Ashok Chakra posthumously.Major Sharma, 31, belonged to the Para Regiment. He was deputed in Rashtriya Rifles in Kashmir. He lost his life along with four others while fighting terrorists in the Hafrada forest of Kupwara district in March this year.Major Sreeram Kumar, 28, is of the Artillery Regiment.
In another development, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had an unscheduled 30-minute meeting with President Pratibha Patil. Rashtrapati Bhavan spokespersons said the two discussed non-political issues.
Nonagenarian Rajya Sabha member Rishant Keising of Manipur and Resham Lal Jangde, 87, of Chhattisgarh will have the proud honour to be felicitated by President Pratibha Patil at the celebrations of Parliament's 60 years on May 13, for being the only live members of the first Lok Sabha constituted in 1952.
"There was no breach of protocol. I had a valid visa and I visited a university in the US purely for academic purpose only from the point of view of knowing about their educational facilities," he said. "I did not do any business, no agreements were signed, no contracts were sealed. I went there as I was interested in observing their classrooms, laboratories and learning about their syllabus as I am associated with several educational institutes," Shekhawat told PTI.
President Pratibha Patil on Saturday presented the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development to Microsoft founder Bill Gates for his charity work.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj on Thursday became the first woman lawmaker to receive an outstanding parliamentarian award.
It was the DMK, whose opposition to divestment in the Nevyeli Lignite Corp, led to the previous UPA decision to put on hold all its divestment decisions and proposals.
After having prioritised the United Progressive Alliance government's programmes for its second term, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is asking his ministerial colleagues to stick to the agenda listed for the first 100 days in office.Dr Singh is writing a letter to his colleagues in the Union Council of Ministers to focus on the priorities and programmes outlined in President Pratibha Patil's address to the joint sitting of Parliament.
Training her guns on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati was extremely critical of President Pratibha Patil's address to the joint sitting of parliament in New Delhi on Thursday.
Santosh Singh is waging a battle to retrieve his 12.1 acre-land in Chittoni village in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district that was usurped by his cousins after declaring him dead.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party deciding to move its Karnataka battleground to Delhi to parade its 105 MLAs before President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday, the Congress core committee, which met on Monday evening, decided to wait and watch the situation and not take any decision in haste.
in payment of compensation to land owners by Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board.
In her customary address to the joint sitting of Parliament, President Pratibha Patil termed the terror attack on Mumbai as an attempt to retard the country's economic progress and said this and terrorist incidents in various cities were assaults on all the values of the country.
In a House of 243, the ruling United Progressive Alliance has the clear support of 101 members and needs at least another 21 members to ensure a simple majority for the bill
For the sake of neutrality of the Chief Election Commissioners and Election Commissioners, CEC N Gopalaswami wants a bar on their joining any political party for ten years after retirement or taking up any government post. In a three-page note to President Pratibha Patil sent on January 16 when he separately recommended removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, he has sought amendment in the Election Commission Act for the purpose.
The Air India Office in Chennai has received a letter warning attacks by 'suicide bombers' and threats to disrupt the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) beginning in the city on Thursday, police said.
The National Investigative Agency Bill and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill on Tuesday became a law as President Pratibha Patil gave her assent to those legislations which were passed in the last session of Parliament."NIA will be established to investigate terrorist offences. As and when any case is assigned to the NIA, it will take up investigation," he said. Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters that the presidential assent has been received today.
A Cabinet Committee on Security meeting will be held on Tuesday, which will take up the issue of deployment of NSG in places like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, where there is a need for beefing up security.
A young techie of a top software firm was arrested on Wednesday in Chennai for sending hate mails sent to President Pratibha Patil in the last three days.
President Pratibha Patil will do the honours first by taking a ride on the Indian Air Force's Boeing Business Jets from the Palam air base that day, IAF officials said in New Delhi.
President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the nation on Saturday in mourning the loss of lives in the Mangalore plane crash. As a mark of respect to the deceased, the government cancelled all functions to celebrate the first anniversary of the second term of the United Progressive Alliance government today. Dr Singh announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 each to those injured in the crash.
In a path-breaking move, the government on Friday decided to grant permanent commission to future batches of women officers in the armed forces, but restricted it to non-combat arms of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
President Pratibha Patil accorded sanction to the defence ministry's proposal, which was agreed to by the three services, hitherto an exclusive domain of men.
Leaders of the Left parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Telugu Desam Party will meet President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday to demand immediate convening of Parliament session. The meeting comes in the wake of the Left demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should quit for "lying to people and Parliament" on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni became only the second cricketer, a decade after Sachin Tendulkar, to be conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the country's highest sporting honour, at a glittering function at Rashtrapati Bhawan, Delhi, on Friday. India's ODI captain could not attend the function as he was leading the team in the fifth and final One-Day International against Sri Lanka in Colombo. His father Paan Singh received the award on his behalf.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday took her maiden sortie in a fighter aircraft at Tezpur air base in Assam.
The Left parties will submit by July 10 to President Pratibha Patil their letter withdrawing support to the UPA government, Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas said on Monday.
To corner the Manmohan Singh government in the Budget Session of Parliament, a united opposition today demanded a debate on price rise on February 23, before the Railway Budget and the Union Budget are placed in the Lok Sabha.
Rajinder Shekhawat, son of President Pratibha Patil and Congress MLA, on Wednesday denied his family had been accused of land grabbing in Maharashtra.
Divestment in India has been a painfully slow process. Will the government finally press the gas?
The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on February 22 and the General Budget for 2010-11 will be presented on February 26.
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