Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday embarked on a five-day visit to Morocco and Tunisia as part of efforts to build on diplomatic gains from the India-Africa Summit and lay platform for a future partnership.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi and other leaders paid their last respects to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha founder Shibu Soren, who passed away on Monday. Soren, 81, was admitted to the hospital since June 19 due to a kidney-related ailment.
"I look forward to discharging my duties as Vice-President of the India and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to the best of my abilities. I will urge all the members of the House to work towrads the realisation of the aspirations of the people of India, all sections of the people of India," Ansari told media persons in New Delhi
Incumbent Hamid Ansari is the United Progressive Alliance's candidate for the Vice President's post and he is all set to get a second consecutive term.
The controversy over a Trinamool Congress member of Parliament mimicking Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar took political centrestage on Wednesday with the issue playing out both inside and outside Parliament and President Droupadi Murmu joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi in expressing dismay.
Setting aside its differences with the Congress, the YSR Congress Party of Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednessay decided to support the candidatures of United Progressive Alliance candidates -- Pranab Mukherjee for president and Hamid Ansari for vice president.
Ending days of suspense, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday made it clear that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was her first choice for Presidentship and Vice President Hamid Ansari was also in the reckoning.
Modi will utilise the Presidential poll to show that he is the only leader who matters in India, argue Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari. So the question being asked in political circles is: 'Who will be the next Kovind?'
Vice President M Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday condoled the death of Verghese Kurien, the founder of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation.
The Congress wants to show that it is Sonia Gandhi who will nominate the presidential candidate, to discard the impression that the party chief has been given a fait accompli if she does not want the Congress candidate to lose, says Renu Mittal
Inter-faith prayer meeting held on Friday at Gandhi Smriti in New Delhi.
In a bold statement, Vice President Mohmmad Hamid Ansari on Wednesday reminded journalists their primary duty of protecting the people's right to information and referred to the 'pay packages' given to them by political parties during elections.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday greeted the nation on the occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha.
As per protocol, only those in uniform salute the Tricolour while the national anthem is being played.
Hazarika and Deshmukh were given the Bharat Ratna posthumously.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramaswamy Parthasarathy, who arrested Chidambaram in the INX Media case last year, has been conferred with the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service.
Every party had been asked to give in their suggestions during the meeting.
Members of Parliament on Sunday bid adieu to outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee.
The debate over Presidential candidate picked up further momentum with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad pitching for Vice President Hamid Ansari while other parties kept the cards close to their chest.
The National Democratic Alliance could not have got a candidate for vice-presidential poll with more gravitas than Jaswant Singh, a former army officer who has headed finance, defence and external affairs ministries, authored books and even served as Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
President Pratibha Patil nominated Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan as the doyen of governors to discharge responsibilities and conduct the three-day conference of governors starting October 29 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist asked the Congress to take the initiative in building a consensus on the candidate for the presidential election though it indicated it was not averse to supporting either Vice President Hamid Ansari or Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for the post.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi gave a couple of names to BSP supremo and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for her consideration for the post of Vice President.
Hamid Ansari of United Progressive Alliance-Left, Najma Heptulla of National Democratic Alliance and Rasheed Masood of the Third Front are in the race for the second highest office.
Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday refused to add any fodder to the talk of him being the front-runner for the President's post, saying he was himself "in the dark" over the issue that has hogged headlines back home. The past week has witnessed intense speculation in India over who would occupy the Rashtrapati Bhavan next, with Mukherjee and the current Vice President Hamid Ansari being touted as the main contenders.
Speaking to the Indian community, he asked them to join the campaigns launched by Prime Minister Modi such as 'Digital India', 'Startup India, Stand up India', 'Clean India Mission', 'Smart Cities' etc.
The win in UP is especially significant because UP assembly members carry the maximum value of votes in a Presidential election, given the fact that the state is India's most populous.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday called on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Islamabad and discussed connectivity, terror threats to the war-torn country and the peace and reconciliation process there.
President Ram Nath Kovind said he was 'a determined champion of democracy during the Emergency' and would be missed by his readers.
Not amused by imposition of President's Rule by the Centre, Rawat termed it as the 'murder of democracy'.
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