Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday met his Italian and Vietnamese counterparts as well as the president of Mongolia in Beijing and exchanged views with them on bilateral ties and the raging global economic turmoil. Dr Singh, who arrived in Beijing on Thursday night from Tokyo to attend the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit, kicked off his official engagements with a bilateral meeting with Mongolian President Namaryn Enkhbayar.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi with other dignitaries at the Dussehra celebrations, at Ramleela Maidan on the occasion of Dussera, in New Delhi.
'Those who are talking of adopting the Narasimha Rao-Manmohan Singh policy must understand now that what was a reform then is no longer a reform now,' argues Sukumar Mukhopadhyay who was associated with the 1991 economic reforms.
Launching cricket diplomacy to give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday invited President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to watch the India-Pakistan cricket encounter in Mohali on March 30 when he will also be present.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the ongoing investigation against the owners of Indian Premier League teams.During the briefing, Mukherjee explained to Dr Singh how bids for franchisees were made.Reportedly, Dr Singh and Mukherjee also discussed the names of Nationalist Congress Party leaders Praful Patel and Supriya Sule being drawn into the IPL controversy.
Admitting that the government was in a "bind" from which it has to come out, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday night said that "practical and pragmatic" solutions have to be found to the Lokpal issue.
Four months after the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of P J Thomas, a high-level committee chaired by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Saturday finalised the name for the post of chief vigilance commissioner.
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a "a nice man with no independence" to run his government the way he wanted to.
United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday dismissed reports of differences with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asserting, "We all stand by him". "There are no differences between the prime minister and me. There is collective leadership," Gandhi told reporters at a function held to celebrate four years of the UPA-II government.
No bilateral meeting has been fixed so far between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani in Bhutan during the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said on Thursday."As of now, no such meeting has been set up between the prime minister and Gilani," she said, adding that Dr Singh will have separate meetings with leaders from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh unfurled the National Flag on the ramparts of the Red Fort on Sunday to celebrate the 64th Independence Day. After unfurling the tricolour, Dr Singh addressed the nation.
Prime Manmohan Singh needs to clarify to both the coalition as well as the Opposition that if they do not cooperate he not hesitate to go for premature elections, says B Raman.
The US President shared an affectionate hug with Dr Singh. Obama greeted the PM's wife Gursharan Kaur with a peck on her cheek. First Lady Michelle Obama did the same to Dr Singh and Kaur.
Because of his proximity to Indira Gandhi, he was able to intervene directly at the level of the PMO, which he did in the days leading up to the partition of Pakistan in 1971 when he transferred crucial information about Pakistan's moves via information handed to him by an East Pakistani diplomat in Poland where he was posted.
Seeking to inject a fresh impetus to India's strategic ties with African countries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday left on a six-day visit to Ethiopia and Tanzania during which he will discuss ways to effectively combat the twin threats of terrorism and piracy.
Dr Singh hosted a private dinner for the French leader and his wife Carla Bruni at his official residence in New Delhi, which was attended by United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and some senior Cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon.
"Such attacks are a grim reminder of the challenges we face from destructive forces, which have pitted themselves against the values of democracy and pluralism and the voices of moderation," Dr Singh said in a letter to his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani.
When Advani shook hands, the prime minister did not come out his seat. While Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav hugged Advani for a second, Lalu Prasad too came out of his seat to greet Advani, but did not hug him.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Afghanistan but the dates are yet to be worked out.
Following is the text of the prime minister's address on the occasion of the 2nd Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is scheduled to visit India next week, will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs minister Lawrence Cannon, Minister for International Trade Stockwell Day and Parliamentary Secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Deepak Obhrai. "Such a high powered delegation should speak volumes that we, our government, are laying all emphasis possible on our relations with India, solidifying our relations with India," said Obhrai.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on Monday reiterated that bilateral relations were in a good state. Dr Singh and Wen, who met at Phnom Penh on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, reviewed the ties during a meeting that may well be their last, as the Chinese leader would be demitting office in March.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has lauded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for responding positively to the proposals made by President Pervez Musharraf to resolve the Kashmir issue.
Replying to query by rediff.com during an interaction with media persons, the Trinamool Congress leader said: "Inclusion of one man will not help fighting corruption. In any case the present prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is an honest man."
'Another term for the government under the prime minister would likely be a step forward on the path to Hindu Rashtra.' 'No question of going back or any slowing down.'
PM accepted the invitation to the meeting during a telephonic conversion with Putin late Saturday night.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in Jammu and briefed him about the peace and development scenario prevailing in the state at present.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said the 'wholesale attack on the democratic system' currently underway in India is the single biggest risk the country is facing, and asserted that allowing different traditions to thrive is very important as 'we cannot do what China does, which is to run an authoritarian system'. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: / Rediff.com Speaking at a seminar titled 'The Future is Today' at the EIA University in Medellin, Colombia, Gandhi also alleged that there are 'huge amounts of corruption at a centralised level' in India now. "In India, we have huge amounts of corruption now at a very centralised level. So, three or four businesses taking over the whole economy, having a direct relationship with the prime minister, is rampant in India," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said. "But I believe decentralising power, making things more transparent, bringing people into conversations, and bringing people into processes is the best way forward," Gandhi said while addressing the seminar on Wednesday. Hitting back at the Congress leader for his remarks, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday accused Gandhi of insulting and degrading India on foreign soil. Posting a video clip of Gandhi's speech on X, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, 'Rahul Gandhi does it again, degrades India on foreign soil. From defaming our democracy in London, to mocking our institutions in the US, now in Colombia he spares no chance to insult Bharat globally.' 'This isn't dissent. It's disgrace to the fake Gandhi. Criticising BJP may be your right but dare you malign Mother India for your cheap and petty politics,' Bhatia said. Speaking at the seminar, Gandhi said India has a much more complex system as compared to China and its strengths are very different from that of the neighbouring country. India also has a very old spiritual tradition and a thought system with profound ideas that are useful in today's world, he said, adding that there is a lot that the country can offer in terms of tradition and way of thinking. "I am very optimistic about India, but at the same time, there are fault lines within the Indian structure. There are risks that India has to overcome. The single-biggest risk is the attack on democracy that is taking place in India," the Leader of Opposition said. "India has multiple religions, traditions and languages. India is actually a conversation between all its people. Different ideas, religions and traditions require space. The best method for creating that space is the democratic system," he said. "Currently, there is a wholesale attack on the democratic system in India, so that is a risk. The other big risk is different conceptions -- some 16-17 different languages, different religions... So, allowing these different traditions to thrive, and giving them space to express themselves is very important for a country like India.
The Congress on Monday supported Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's statements for a "reasoned debate" on the Lokpal Bill and that there is a "lot of scope for give and take" on the issue.
Less than a week after they met in Washington, DC, United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday called Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and discussed his administration's Af-Pak policy and climate change with him.
Whether it was the MGNREGS or the NFSA or the Aadhaar-based DBT scheme for cash transfer, the Modi government has built on the basic architecture created by the Singh government. Policy makers in the Modi government, instead of discarding them as products of the previous political regime, worked on them, expanded their scope and reach, and used new tools to improve their performance, explains A K Bhattacharya.
The latest reshuffle by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has created a great deal of unhappiness in the Congress party, with the prime minister having opened a can of worms with his remark that this will be the last reshuffle before the polls.
Security restrictions paralysed life across Kashmir as Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh arrived in Srinagar on Monday afternoon on a two-day visit, when he is expected to make a fresh call to separatists for talks.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that a needless controversy had been created over the Pokhran II nuclear tests that took place in May 1998.
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