- News Fast
Posts tagged Manmohan Singh
Today Manmohan goes through bypass surgery
Jan 24th
NEW DELHI: On Saturday Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is planned to go through a “coronary artery bypass graft” at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS). He is expected to stay in the hospital for a week after the surgery and, according to prime ministerial aides, must take one more week before he resumes official duties.According to a report issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the surgery would be performed by a team of doctors from the AIIMS and the Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai.
Dr. Singh’s choice to let the doctors to complete the heart surgery as early as Saturday formed substantial confusion and concern in the political and official circles. The main center of interest was as to who would “officiate” for the duration of his hospitalisation.
In his absence, as per “the standing orders” functioning during the Prime Minister’s absence or unavailability, the decision-making will devolve on the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, to be chaired by the senior-most Minister.
Pranab Mukherjee is the senior-most member of the Cabinet as also in the CCPA. Besides Mr. Mukherjee, the CCPA consists of HRD Minister Arjun Singh, Home Minister P. Chidambram, Defence Minister A.K.Antony, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Transport Minister T.R. Baalu.
As per the standing orders, Mr. Mukherjee, as the senior most Minister, has been normally chairing the Cabinet meetings during the Prime Minister’s absence from the capital.
As the Prime Minister was also looking after the Finance Ministry (since Mr. Chidambram’s departure for the Ministry of Home Affairs), that duty has also devolved on Mr. Mukherjee.
According to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, the President, on the Prime Minister’s advice, has “assigned extra charge of the Ministry of Finance” to Mr. Mukherjee “from January 24, 2009 until the healing of the Prime Minister from medical treatment.”
Though there will be no official announcement, it is authoritatively learnt that an “alternate” arrangement has been put in place concerning the Prime Minister’s duty in the nuclear command authority.
Before the Prime Minister got admitted to the AIIMS on Friday afternoon, Congress president Sonia Gandhi called on him. The two are said to have discussed the implications of Dr. Singh’s absence. Later, Mr. Mukhjerjee met Ms Gandhi, as also the Prime Minister.
After his conference with Ms Gandhi, Mr. Mukherjee told reporters that there was no need for any “re-designation” [as “officiating Prime Minister”].
He said, “These are theoretical questions. We do not know how long it would take or what would happen. This is normal, the government is there.”
President Pratibha Patil spoke to the Prime Minister on Friday night and wished him well, a Rashtrapati Bhawan spokesperson said.
To get license renewed India’s PM himself visits RTO office
Jan 18th
New Delhi: On Sunday Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chose to personally go to a regional transport office here to get his driving license renewed.
His wife Gursharan Kaur, who accompanied him, as well got her license renewed.
His wife Gursharan Kaur, who accompanied him, as well got her license renewed.The 76-year-old Prime Minister, who’s license expired around 45 days ago, drove to the RTO office in Indraprashtha and fulfilled official procedure like getting himself photographed and fingerprinted as necessary for the fresh biometric license.
The Prime Minister had got the license from the same RTO in the 1990s, when he was Finance Minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government.
Earlier, he got it renewed in 2003, when he was leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha.
“The Prime Minister along with his wife went to the RTO office and both of them got their licenses renewed,” Prime Minister’s media advisor Deepak Sandhu said to a news agency.
Pak govt was not involved in 26/11: UK
Jan 13th
On Tuesday Britain differed with India’s vision that Pakistan’s official agencies might include a role in Mumbai attacks even as it underlined that Islamabad has the “fundamental” duty to aim the “roots” of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which was behind the Terror strike.
India hoped that Pakistan would hand over the “fugitives of Indian law”, despite Islamabad’s denial to do so, and asked the world community to make pressure on Pakistan in a “concerted” way to make sure that perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks are brought to justice.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who held “exhaustive” discussion with his British counterpart David Miliband, apprised him of facts of the Mumbai attacks and its links in Pakistan.
“It is clear where the responsibility lies for Mumbai attacks, it is with the LeT,” Miliband said at a joint press conference with Mukherjee after their meeting.
“Pakistan government, Pakistani state has the primary responsibility, fundamental responsibility to tackle the roots of this organisation,” the British Foreign Minister said.
On Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s view that official agencies of Pakistan could have been involved in the Mumbai strikes, Miliband said “we do not believe the attacks were directed by Pakistani state”.
He, though, said it is vital to watch what is the “approach of Pakistani state towards LeT organisation and the way Pakistani state takes on the LeT.”
