Pranab Mukherjee will be forever remembered in annals of Indian history: US

US State Department on Monday condoled the death of former President Pranab Mukherjee, saying that he will be forever remembered in the annals of Indian history.

US State Department on Monday condoled the death of former President Pranab Mukherjee, saying that he will be forever remembered in the annals of Indian history. “Our heartfelt condolences on the passing of former President Pranab Mukherjee. We stand with the people of India as they grieve the loss of a great leader who will be forever remembered in the annals of Indian history,” US State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) tweeted.

Scores of foreign countries and leaders from across the world have paid tribute to the former President, who passed away at the age of 84. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing grief over the death of Pranab Mukherjee. Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent his condolences saying that Mukherjee “made a significant personal contribution to strengthening the relations of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between our countries.”

Mukherjee passed away on Monday at the Army Hospital (Research and Referral) Hospital where he was admitted earlier this month and had undergone surgery for the removal of a clot in his brain. He was admitted to the Army Hospital in Delhi on August 10 and had tested positive for COVID-19..

Vajpayee, a man of values who decried divisive ideology of his partymen

But in the short 13-month term of the second Vajpayee government, he made his mark by making India a declared nuclear weapon power

It was the summer of 1996. The Congress government of Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao had lost the general election and, for the first time, there was an opportunity for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), headed by the moderate and well-liked Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to take power.

He lacked parliamentary majority but nevertheless made the bid to form a government and become Prime Minister — an ambition that he had long nurtured but which seemed elusive despite being in public life as a popular leader for long.

The moment it became clear that Vajpayee would be the man to lead the next government in India, I made a beeline to his house at 5 Raisina Road which was almost a stone’s throw from the Press Club of India. Vajpayee was a people’s man and security was light around him those days. I and a colleague, Mayank Chhaya, opened the gates of his bungalow and walked in to his secretary’s office. I asked his aides if he was busy. One of them pointed outside the window.

Also read : How Vajpayee met foreign policy challenges, made India a nuclear power

There, standing all by himself, in an inconspicuous corner of the bungalow, seemingly staring into space, was the man of the moment — in his trademark starched white dhoti and collarless kurta — who would be the Prime Minister of India in a few days.

We congratulated him. He smiled and ushered us in. Vajpayee had often wondered aloud whether he would forever remain prime minister-in-waiting as the BJP, with its hardline Hindu nationalist ideology, was not a popular favourite of the country then.

Article Source : BS

Investors richer in Modi's 'acche din' than under Vajpayee's 'India shining'

Both these indices have surged a whopping 55 per cent and 53 per cent, respectively under PM Modi (till August 14 2018) – hugely outperforming the rally seen during 1999 – 2004.

The markets have performed better under the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA’s) Narendra Modi, as compared to Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure as India’s Prime Minister (PM).

The Nifty 50 index (Nifty as it was known then), notched up a gain of 5.7 per cent, while the Sensex lost one per cent on an absolute basis between October 13, 1999 when Vajpaee assumed charge as the PM, till May 19, 2004 when he left office, data shows.

Atal bihari vajpayee

Both these indices have surged a huge 55 per cent and 53 per cent, respectively under PM Modi (till August 14 2018) – hugely outperforming the rally seen during 1999 – 2004. This is despite the two key events, demonetisation drive in 2016 and the rush to implement the goods and services tax (GST), which disrupted the economic growth momentum.

The gain under Vajpayee’s tenure, analysts say, came on the back of government’s increased focus on infrastructure development, especially roads (the golden quadrilateral, or the GQ) and pushing for big bang reforms such as the four big-ticket strategic divestments – in Bharat Aluminium and Hindustan Zinc (both to Sterlite Industries), Indian Petrochemicals Corporation (to Reliance Industries) and VSNL (to the Tata group).

Also Read : Vajpayee’s death: Railway exams to be conducted today as scheduled

Besides the reform / policy measures under the Modi’s regime, a key factor that drove markets higher has been flows – both domestic and foreign – into the equity markets. That apart, India was a favourite among the foreign investors in the emerging market pack given the health of the other major global economies.

“Modi has been good with reforms as well and opened foreign direct investment (FDI) avenues, such as in insurance and aviation. Demonetisation, though a drastic step, was seen as a measure to tackle the menace of black money. Investors saw this in a positive light.

Article Source : BS 

Modi re-visits AIIMS, top leaders come calling as Vajpayee remains critical

Several senior politicians visited AIIMS to inquire about the health of the 93-year-old leader

As followers and well-wishers prayed for the recovery of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the national capital was preparing for the worst on Thursday afternoon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited All India Institute of Media Science (AIIMS), where Vajpayee is currently admitted and on life support system, on Thursday afternoon. He had spent an hour at the hospital on Wednesday evening as well.

Atal bihari vajpayee

Traffic police were busy ensuring that roads leading to the hospitals were kept free of heavy traffic. Preparations were also underway outside Vajpayee’s official residence at 6A, Krishna Menon Marg in Lutyens’ Delhi.

Several senior politicians visited AIIMS to inquire about the health of the 93-year-old leader.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu visited in the morning, as did Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah and senior union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje cut short the second leg of her ‘Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra’, part of her assembly election campaign, to head to Delhi.

Read Full Story : BS

Ram Nath Kovind leads, 'Not upset', says Meira Kumar : Presidential Election 2017 Results LIVE

Incumbent Pranab Mukherjee's term as President ends on July 25

The counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 11 am on Thursday, July 20, but it is believed that Kovind has an edge over Kumar. However, should he win, the margin of his victory will be interesting to note, given that there were reports of many instances where voters from Opposition parties also voting for Kovind in the election.

“The voting was close to 99 per cent. I think this would perhaps be the highest-ever percentage,” Anoop Mishra, Lok Sabha, secretary general and returning officer for the election, had said on Monday.

Mishra had said while the sanctioned strength of the Lok Sabha (LS) and the Rajya Sabha (RS) is 776 (543 and 233), 771 MPs were eligible to cast their votes. There are two vacancies each in the LS and the RS, while one BJP MP, Chhedi Paswan, did not have voting rights following a judicial pronouncement.

Of the total 771 MPs who are entitled to vote, 768, or 99.61 per cent, cast their votes. Likewise, of the 4,109 MLAs entitled to vote, 4,083 or 99.37 per cent cast their votes, officials said.

 

CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES: Presidential Election 2017 Results

03:08 PM
The states where the counting has finished include Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
03:06 PM
Do you know why the ballot boxes are known as ‘Mr Ballot Box’?
This is because the boxes, which reached the parliament two days ago, are sent to Delhi via plane through a senior security official. The official, who is trusted to maintain the secrecy travels in Business class compartment along with the box, reorted ABP Live.

Here comes the catch: The ballot box has a seat reserved for itself next to the official carrying it. Therefore, as it is not transported as a cargo, it is known as ‘Mr Ballot Box.’
02:51 PM
Number of invalid votes: 21
02:51 PM
Total votes polled in favour of Ram Nath Kovind is 522 in value of 3,69,576
02:45 PM
In Bihar, it was a close fight with Kovind getting 22,490 and Meira Kumar 18,867.
02:44 PM
According to Lok Sabha Secretary General Anoop Mishra, the Returning Officer for the July 20 election, Kovind secured 60,683 value of votes after ballots from four states - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Bihar - were counted.
02:28 PM
I am not upset, why should I be upset? I am a fighter, I fought for the belief and faith of majority of my countrymen and women, says Meira Kumar who has not flared better than Kovind.
02:26 PM
In Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim, the Opposition's nominee receieved 0 votes, meanwhile, the NDA's canditate got 27,666 and 210 votes in the respective states.
02:23 PM
States where Ram Nath Kovind trumped over Meira Kumar: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim
02:23 PM
States where Meira Kumar bagged more votes than Kovind: West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, New Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Puducherry
02:09 PM
Counting began at 11 am with the ballot box of Parliament House being opened first, followed by ballot boxes received from states in alphabetical order. (READ MORE)

Presidential election 2017 India: Kovind or Meira Kumar, who will be the next Rashtrapati?

Incumbent Pranab Mukherjee's term as President ends on July 25

Presidential election 2017 Results On July 17, of the total 4,880 valid voters — 4,109 members of legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and 771 elected members of Parliament (MPs) — 99.49 per cent cast their vote to elect the next President of India. In the fray were the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA's) candidate Ram Nath Kovind, and the Opposition candidate Meira Kumar.

The counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 11 am on Thursday, July 20, but it is believed that Kovind has an edge over Kumar. However, should he win, the margin of his victory will be interesting to note, given that there were reports of many instances where voters from Opposition parties also voting for Kovind in the election.

“The voting was close to 99 per cent. I think this would perhaps be the highest-ever percentage,” Anoop Mishra, Lok Sabha, secretary general and returning officer for the election, had said on Monday.

CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES: 

11:21 AM
Result will be declared by 5 pm

11:20 AM
There will be eight rounds of counting, and announcements will be made after every round.

11:11 AM
Here are the visuals of counting of votes:



11:07 AM
Counting of votes for Presidential election 2017 has begun.

11:05 AM
Kovind’s sister-in-law Vidyavati has been fasting since 19 July for his victory. She is the wife of Shiv Balak, Kovind’s brother.

11:03 AM
Ram Nath Kovind is set to win the election by a 70 per cent margin

11:02 AM
Ballot boxes from 29 state capitals and the union territory of Puducherry have reached Parliament House amid tight security.

11:01 AM
Both Ram Nath Kovind and Kumar are from the Dalit community and have canvassed hard by visiting states to seek support of legislators.

10:58 AM
The candidate who secures at least one vote more than 50 per cent of the total votes will enter into the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

10:56 AM
President Pranab Mukherjee will demit the office on July 25.

(READ MORE)