Kaun Banega Next Prez

07-10-2007, 08:35 PM

QUOTEKnow Pratibha Patil CampaignÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

India Project
H 3/1, Model Town
New Delhi â 110009.

Press Release
Shri Arun Jaitley, MP, launches www.knowpratibhapatil.com

New Delhi â July 10, 2007 : India is going to elect a new President on July 19, 2007 . Even though the people do not elect the Rashtrapati, they have a right to know whether the likely winner is worthy of becoming the Head of State of the world's largest democracy. They need to know whether the person embodies the lofty ideals enshrined in the Constitution of India, of which he or she will be the Custodian, or he/she will be a rubber-stamp of those who have catapulted him/her to the high office.

The people's need to know about the antecedents of the likely winner in the forthcoming Presidential election has assumed menacing urgency after the United Progressive Alliance, the Congress-led ruling coalition, nominated Smt. Pratibha Patil as its candidate. When Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Congress president and UPA chairperson, announced her candidature on July 14, the first question that most Indians, including a majority of Congressmen, asked was: "Pratibha who?" After the passage of a fortnight, many people are asking: "Pratibha why?"

This is because of a spate of scandals and controversies that the Indian media, both print and electronic, have exposed, casting Smt. Patil as a person wholly unsuited to occupy the highest Constitutional office in India .

As highlighted by the Indian media, both print and electronic, Smt. Patil's name is linked, directly or indirectly, to two cancerous C's that are eating away the vitals of India 's society and polity -- CORRUPTION and CRIMINALISATION OF POLITICS . The source of each of these media exposes was not some baseless allegation by the opposition, but thoroughly verifiable records of the Bombay High Court and the lower courts in Maharashtra, the Reserve Bank of India, official communication by the Department of Cooperatives of the Govt. of Maharashtra, bank documents, letters written by local Congress office-bearers on Congress party's own letterhead, and photographic and videographic material, etc. This shows the hollowness of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's unbecoming characterization of the media reports as "mud-slinging by the opposition".

The Congress leadership, which chose Smt. Pratibha Patil as its Presidential candidate, could not have been unaware of her highly questionable credentials. Therefore, two questions arise: Why did Smt. Sonia Gandhi hand-pick Smt. Pratibha Patil as the UPA's candidate for the Presidential election? And, even after the media thoroughly exposed her dubious antecedents, why did Smt. Sonia Gandhi not withdraw her candidature when there was still time, and replace her with someone suitable for the high office? Is it because she wanted a pliable person in Rashtrapati Bhavan who would not only be loyal to the 'Nehru Dynasty' but also vulnerable?

A weak and vulnerable President, who owes her allegiance not to the Constitution of India but to the unaccountable 'Empress of India', and who is willing to sign on the dotted line could spell disaster for democracy in India . All of us know how one democratic institution after another -- Parliament, State Legislatures, Jud iciary at all levels, Civil Service, Political Executive, even the office of the Prime Minister -- has been devalued and enfeebled in India in recent times. What will happen to our democratic system, and to the Indian State , if even the office of the President of India is also similarly diminished? Moreover, the country has already had the bitter experience of what a pliable president can inflict on the people: it was because he was so weak and pliable that Indira Gandhi had selected Fakkruddin Ali Ahmed as President, and he did exactly what was expected of him -- he signed the Emergency proclamation promptly in June 1975, and thereby assisted in snuffing out democracy and the Constitution entirely.

It is this deep concern for the future of our Motherland that has prompted us to create this website. It has three objects:

As the website's name itself suggests, it seeks to serve as a carrier of properly sourced information about Smt. Pratibha Patil. Concerned individuals, public-spirited organizations and media institutions are free to make suitable use of the information available on this site.
This website is intended to serve as a platform for all right-thinking Indians to express their opinion on the central question: Does this tainted person deserve to become the President of India ? The voice of popular protest so generated, we hope, will reach every member of the electoral college and influence their conscience at the time of casting their vote.
Thirdly, and most importantly, we sincerely hope that this endeavor becomes part of a broader people's campaign to cleanse our country's polity of the evils of corruption and criminalization, make our elected representatives and leaders of political parties more accountable, and rejuvenate each our democratic institutions with well-informed activism of the citizenry.
India Project has created a compilation of media reports and articles on Smt. Pratibha Patil. It has also created a website â www.knowpratibhapatil.comâ which provides extensive information, with proper references, about the UPA's Presidential candidate.

India Project has requested Shri Arun Jaitley, MP, to release the compilation and launch the website on July 10, 2007.

News report in Dinamalar, Tamil daily, July 10, 2007

New Delhi : A book and website against UPA Presidential candidate Pratibha Patil was released by senior leader of BJP, Arun Jaitley today. A series of allegations against Pratibha are mounting against Pratibha evere since she filed her nomination papers. In this situation, in the house of the former BJP President Venkaiah Naidu, during a press meet, this event occurred. Jaitley said that it was the responsibility of every voter to know about the Presidential candidate and hence the event.

ramana · 07-11-2007, 02:19 AM

Pioneer, 10 July 2007
QUOTECross-voting scare haunts UPA leaders

Amarnath Tewari | Patna

Pratibha visits Bihar; Arun Jaitley to campaign for Shekhawat

As the countdown begins for the July 19 presidential poll, the UPA candidate Pratibha Patil visited Bihar on Tuesday to meet legislators and MPs of alliance parties apparently to ensure their votes in her favour. Ahead of Patil's visit RJD boss Lalu Prasad Yadav had come descended in the capital on Monday evening and held meeting with party leaders.

Soon after her arrival the visibly shaken Pratibha Patil accompanied with the State Congress president Sadanand Singh, Leader of Opposition Rabri Devi and others met UPA legislators and MPs at a posh Patna hotel.

"Her interaction with the UPA legislators and leaders was smooth and warm, who promised their support and votes for her," said Congress leader Kripanath Pathak. Pratibha also met other like-minded legislators of Bihar Assembly, Pathak said.

After winding up her hurried Patna visit, Patil left for Jharkhand in the afternoon to repeat the same poll exercise there. The Railway Minister Lalu Prasad was nominated as the nodal officer for Pratibha Patil's Bihar and Jharkhand visit.

Lalu Prasad who is making all out efforts to avoid any chance of cross-voting appealed to the UPA legislators and MPs to support her to ensure there was a woman in the President's seat for the first time in the country. Almost all the UPA leaders were present in full strength to put up a united face with the UPA presidential nominee.

Though, it would be interesting to see how many of them would defy party's line and answer the call of their conscience while exercising their franchise.

Bihar has total 243 legislators including 146 from the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine, 65 from the opposition RJD-Congress alliance, 11 from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and 21 others. The State has 40 Lok Sabha MPs and 16 Rajya Sabha MPs.

The total votes at stake in Bihar are 81,687 with the validity of votes for an MLA being 173 and an MP at 708. 

Meanwhile, in the game of numbers even the small party leaders have suddenly become most sought after important figures for the top leaders from both camps. The leader of the four member BSP team in the State, Ramchandra Yadav even had got a direct call from the UPA presidential candidate Pratibha Patil requesting him for support.

"Even the State Congress president has spoken to me. The haunt of cross-voting has certainly bugged them and so the calls I'm receiving these days," said the BSP leader.

The spectre of cross-voting seemed to be giving jitters to the UPA leaders as they are pulling all strings to be in touch with the independent legislators.

BJP leaders Arun Jaitely and party's Bihar in-charge Kalraj Mishra are expected to visit Bihar soon to ensure votes for NDA-backed independent nominee Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

"Many non-NDA leaders from Bihar are in our constant touch and have expressed their preference for Bhairon Singh Shekhwat as the presidential candidate," said a State BJP leader.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday hoped that Bhairon Singh Shekhwat would win the presidential poll with thumping majority.

Pratibha Patil may be the UPA candidate but Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is country's; candidate for the post of President, said Ravi Shankar Prasad.

07-11-2007, 03:36 AM

Arun Shourie interview with Karan Thapar video on Pratibha Patil episode

http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/video/st...ewsvideo/289566

07-11-2007, 10:34 PM

PM Relief check bounced
Notice to officials for Vidarbha gaffe
QUOTEâThe cheque under reference was issued by the local District authorities in Maharashtra, and not honoured because of local issues, and not on account of any delay in release of funds from PMNRF,â the PMO statement said, pointing that the Singhâs commitment in this regard had already been fulfilled.


Money was probabily siphoned off to Prathiba tai's outfit. Vidharba farmers are screwed yet again. Mera Manmohan mahan. <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' />

07-12-2007, 10:17 AM

QUOTEThey're bugging my phone - Sushma
Posted July 11th, 2007 by Tarique AnwarIndia Politics By IANS
New Delhi : Sushma Swaraj, leading the opposition presidential election campaign for vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, says her telephone is being tapped.

"My phones, those of Mr S S Ahluwalia and of Digvijay Singh (of the Janata Dal-United) are being tapped because we are the chief campaigners of Shekhawat," she told reporters Wednesday.

"These people have become nervous and are sure to lose the elections. That is why, in panic, they are resorting to all these practices.

"I have brought this to the notice of the Election Commission. I have also written to the communications minister," said Swaraj.

She said that whenever anyone called up her phone number, 9868181920, "the reply comes 'this number does not exist'. I am not being able to call up from my phone. When I called up my residential landline it was being connected to the Police Control Room."
<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' />
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ahluwalia, backed her up, saying, "I have been handling mobile phones since their inception and can make out when they are being tapped or when there is some normal fault in the line and I can tell you this is clearly a case of tapping."

07-13-2007, 03:21 AM

<img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/furious.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='furious.gif' /> Congress makes its MLAs 'captive'

Lokpal Sethi | Jaipur

Prez poll

The Congress in Rajasthan seems to have doubts about the loyalty of some of its MLAs. So, the party has decided to keep them under barabandi (fenced in) for three days starting July 16.

Although the Congress leaders claim that UPA candidate Pratibha Patil would secure more votes than the party's strength in the State, they fear that the NDA-supported independent candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat might dent their party's vote bank.

About 10 days ago when Shekhawat visited the State to attend some official functions, some Congress MLAs had met him. But they insist that it was only a "courtesy call".

In a bid to keep the flock together, Congress leaders have asked all the 55 party MLAs to reach Jaipur by Monday.

According to party sources, arrangements are being made to keep them at one place for the next few days. The decision to keep these MLAs at one place was taken in a meeting of senior party leaders on Wednesday evening. AICC general secretary and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC president BD Kalla and Legislative Party leader Ramnarayan Chaudhary attended the meeting. These leaders have taken the responsibility of ensuring a "comfortable stay" for the party MLAs.

On the face of it, these leaders are saying that party MLAs have been asked to make themselves available in the State capital by the evening of July16 where they would be 'trained'on how to vote in the presidential election.

On Wednesday, when Pratibha as part of her campaign addressed a meeting of the Congress MLAs, 51 of them were present. Apart from three independents, two BSP MLAs also participated in the meeting. Though the CPI(M) and Lok Janshakti Party of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan are supporting the UPA candidate, its MLAs were not invited to the meeting. These two parties have one MLA each.

07-13-2007, 10:23 PM

Shekhawat declares his assets

Friday, July 13, 2007 (New Delhi) PTI

The NDA-backed presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Friday made a public declaration of his assets and liabilities, which showed that he holds a bank balance of Rs 25.60 lakh and Rs one lakh in cash.

But his wife Suraj Kanwar is richer, with Rs 25.86 lakh in fixed deposits, Rs 1.25 lakh in cash and Rs 5,849 in a savings bank account.

Shekhawat, contesting against UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil, owns jewellery worth Rs one lakh while his wife's gold ornaments amount to Rs 5.25 lakh and silver utensils are worth Rs 3.90 lakh.

Kanwar owns an Ambassador car of 1980 make while her husband has an army-disposed vehicle registered in his name.

Shekhawat owns less than one hectare of land, that too ancestral, in a Sikar district village of Rajasthan, but his wife has 6.28 hectares in a Jaipur district village.

The declaration, which the vice-president made on his own showed that Shekhawat has got a 1/16th share in an ancestral house in Khachariawas village in Rajasthan.

His wife, however, owns a 1,000-sq yard plot in Jaipur, whose present value is estimated at Rs 1.54 crore.

There is another 650-sq yard plot, worth Rs 55 lakh, in Jaipur, which has been put in a disputed claim category in her name.

Cases are pending in Rajasthan courts over 22.8 bhigas listed in Kanwar's disputed claims column in the declaration.

Both husband and wife owe no dues to banks or to any government department.

Not legally binding

Shekhawat has become the first ever presidential candidate to declare his assets though it's not legally binding.

''We have declared assets to maintain probity and transparency in public life. We have not asked them or demanded anything from them,'' said Sushma Swaraj, NDA Spokesperson.

Pratibha Patil has also compiled her list of assets and the UPA is now deciding when to make it public. Offically though they say the exercise is a farce.

''With Shekawat taking the lead in declaring his assets, the big question now is whether the government will decide to amend the law and make it mandatory in future for presidential and vice presidential aspirants to declare their assets,'' said Abhishek M Singhvi, Congress Spokesperson.

Shekhawat decided to reveal his assets after LK Advani demanded that presidential candidates must declare their assets to the Election Commission, just like other candidates do when they contest elections. But It seems NDA's real aim is to get Pratibha Patil to declare her assets.

07-15-2007, 11:42 PM

Bhairon camp petitions EC

Pioneer News Service | New Delhi

Reacting to the United National Progressive Alliance's (UNPA) decision to abstain from voting in presidential elections, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat's supporters on Saturday sought the Election Commission's intervention to ensure no MP or MLA is pressurised to stay away from the exercise.

"UNPA's decision amounts to issuing a whip which is not permissible in presidential elections," Shekhawat's spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said.

The Election Commission, she said, should take a notice of the move on its own. "It should ensure that the electors are allowed to vote," Swaraj said. Asked if there was any move for formally petition the Election Commission in this regard, Swaraj said: "We are getting this examined. Presidential elections are held by secret ballot and no party whip can be issued asking an elector to cast his vote for a particular candidate or in a particular manner."

A committee under senior BJP leader and former Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley is already considering legal action on the tapping of mobile and residential phones of NDA leaders and Shekhawat supporters. Jaitley might be asked to look into the legality of the UNPA call also, sources said.

The NDA camp has been emboldened by the remarks of former Chief Election Commission GVG Krishnamurthy, according to whom any advice to "abstain from voting in the presidential poll could violate provisions of the election law and invite action against parties. Even a direction to the voters not to exercise their preference for other than one candidate could amount to undue influence."

Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap also said: "It is the privilege of individual members of the Electoral College to elect the President. In electing the President, no directive or whip could be legitimate and valid."

Noted jurist Ram Jethmalani has said the Constitution requires secret ballot for the presidential poll. This ensures perfect freedom of choice, a choice that nobody can investigate or question. Thus, the members of the electoral college have the freedom to vote as per their own conscience.

07-17-2007, 03:55 AM

QUOTEPratibha not to declare assets, for now 
Nidhi Sharma | New Delhi
Under pressure from the Opposition over declaration of assets in the presidential election, the Congress has prepared a statement of accounts and immovable assets of UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil. However, the party is employing a wait-and-watch policy over making the list public.

07-18-2007, 12:57 AM

QUOTENajma among NDA's V-P candidates 
Yogesh Vajpeyi | New Delhi
Pioneer.com
Final decision after Prez poll
The National Democratic Alliance leaders will meet on July 19 evening, after the polling for presidential election, to select the Opposition nominee for the post of the Vice-President.

Announcing this, NDA spokesperson Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday said that the question of supporting the UNPA nominee in the vice-residential election did not arise "since the UNPA has already made it clear that it would not seek the NDA support".

"We had offered to support their candidate for the Vice-President's post if they agreed to support Shekhawat. But they turned down our offer," she pointed out.

NDA sources said that the dominant view in the Opposition alliance was to field Rajya Sabha MP Najma Heptullah for the post since she was a woman and also belonged to the minority community.

"She has also demonstrated her ability to conduct the Rajya Sabha proceedings in an impartial manner as the Deputy Chairperson of the House," said a senior BJP leader. However, he hastened to add that Najma has yet to accept the offer.

Among other names doing the round in NDA circles are those of Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charnjit Singh Atwal, NDA sources said.

Sushma Swaraj made it clear that it was yet to be decided if the NDA nominee should be from the BJP or from any of its NDA allies. 

"We will decide the question when the NDA leaders meet on the evening of July 19," she said, hinting that if the meeting could not decide on a name, the final choice could be left to NDA chairperson Atal Bihari Vajpayee as there would be little time left for another meeting before the nominations close on July 23.

All the 790 MPs, both in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, will vote on August 10 to choose the next Vice-President of India.

Unlike presidential election, the nominated members of both the Houses are eligible to cast their vote in election for the Vice-President. While the Lok Sabha has two nominated members, the Rajya Sabha has 12.

Except the newly-formed United National Progressive Alliance, which has already declared Rasheed Masood as its candidate, no political party or alliance has so far even started the process of selecting its nominee for the post.

07-18-2007, 01:05 AM

QUOTEPratibha uses luxurious Falcon for campaigning 
Pioneer.com
Nidhi Sharma | New Delhi
The run-up to the election for the thirteenth President of India seems to have become a display of power, speed and comfort. No, not the plain and simple arithmetic of who has the numbers. But a show of who has arrived on the political scene. Unlike any other presidential candidate in the history of India, UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil is jet-setting all across India in a hired Falcon and Bombardier Global Express executive jets to woo the electors.

So what is the big deal about these jets? For the uninitiated, these are one of the most expensive jets that can be hired. If you want to show the world that you have arrived, you travel in a Falcon or a Bombardier Global Express. Rather than using a commercial airline or hire a less ostentatious aircraft like Cessna or Beechcraft, the Congress has chosen a Falcon. According to Civil Aviation Ministry records, there are only eight Falcons in India. Three are owned by the Tata Group, two by GMR, one each by Anil Ambani, Mukesh Ambani and the Hindujas.

Travelling in a Falcon is like travelling in the lap of luxury. It is what Anil Ambani lent to the Bachchans to visit Tirupati after Abhishek got married to Aishwarya Rai. Predictably, his group did not loan its Falcon to the UPA-Left presidential candidate. It is learnt that two aircraft with markings VT-DHA and VT-TBT were used by Pratibha. The first one, which was used twice is a Bombardier Global Express, which is a top-notch jet owned by the likes of Steven Spielberg and Bill Gates. The second aircraft, a Falcon 2000, was used thrice. These are believed to be owned by two of India's topmost industrial houses, both headquartered in Mumbai.

Though all luxury jets can be customised to be what the owner wants them to be. Most Falcons have two sections. One section has a private area with a double bed, shower, personal entertainment system, a library of films and facilities for phone calls and faxes. The second section has 7-8 seats in plush leather that can recline to become cosy beds. It has a separate bathroom too.

Usually hiring a private jet could cost anywhere between Rs 45,000 to Rs 70,000 per hour, including fuel costs, landing fees, parking and waiting charges. However, Falcon is a class apart. The Congress has been very tight-lipped about the expenses incurred by Patil on her campaign. Party treasurer Moti Lal Vora said, "We will pay the bill when it is furnished". 

Patil has already campaigned in 18 States and Union Territories. Starting with Chennai on July 1, Patil has already flown in her Falcon to Trivandrum, Pudducherry, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Srinagar, Chandigarh, Simla, Patna, Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Jaipur, Raipur, Kolkata, Gujarat and Goa. The Congress, however, is in no mood to give a breather to the 72-year-old. There are last minute campaign plans for Wednesday - a day before the Electoral College votes for the 13th President of India. Sources said that Patil would have to cover Maharashtra before Thursday.

It is not uncommon for politicians to hire private jets to zip from one place to another. Business houses often loan out their jets and just to maintain the facade of public propriety the political party pays the fuel cost. However, this is the first time that a presidential candidate has ever travelled on a Falcon for a nation-wide campaign.

Patil's predecessors showed no such inclination to campaign. Giani Zail Singh, Shankar Dayal Sharma, KR Narayanan and APJ Abdul Kalam did not campaign on such a scale.

The Election Commission of India has not set any cap on expenditure for presidential elections. Unlike candidates contesting parliamentary and Assembly polls, the presidential candidates do not even have to declare assets, furnish details of daily expenses on campaigning or criminal record before the Election Commission. This grey area seems to have helped the UPA-Left's presidential candidate. The scale of the campaign is massive.

Political observers point out that the Electoral College would soon be electing the First Citizen of India, who has not only undertaken an unparalleled campaign but also never declared her assets in the public domain. The last time she was a member of Parliament, there was no rule making declaration of assets mandatory.

The Congress leaders, however, are defending this extravagant exercise by terming it as "tradition". On the need to take Patil to all State capitals party general secretary Digvijay Singh said, "It is a Congress tradition that if a presidential candidate is not a unanimous choice, he is taken to all State capitals." This kind of campaigning, however, is unprecedented. Presidential elections have always been contested but apart from the 1969 VV Giri-Sanjeeva Reddy contest, the fights have never been this close.

Even then, Reddy -- the official candidate of the Congress did not tour the country. Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi calls those days "charming". He said: "VV Giri campaigned in one or two odd places. But those days were different. Chandrashekharji went to campaign for Giri on behalf of Indiraji. The fight was different."

What is inexplicable is that when UPA-Left combine has the desired numbers, why does the candidate need to undertake a campaign similar to parliamentary and Assembly elections. As per the Congress' own estimates, released by Dasmunsi last week, the UPA-Left nominee can bank upon 6,31,464 votes in the Electoral College - well above the half way mark required for sweeping the presidential elections.

Itinerary
July 1 Chennai
5 Trivandrum, Pudducherry
6 Bangalore, Hyderabad
7 Srinagar
8 Chandigarh, Simla
10 Patna, Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar
11 Bhopal, Jaipur, Raipur
13 Kolkata
14 Delhi
15 Gujarat, Goa

It must be Hindujas or Mukesh Ambani group.

07-19-2007, 10:08 PM

I will go with two small suitcases: KalamQUOTEI will go with two small suitcases," said an emotional President A P J Abdul Kalam onb Thursday as he prepared to leave Rashtrapati Bhawan with a desire to see India as a developed nation by 2020.

In possibly his last public function as the head of the state, Kalam had an advice for the countrymen -- `don't take gifts that come with a purpose and build families with character and good value system.

"On the 25th I will leave Rashtrapati Bhawan after having spent five glorious years there. What I have got are two small suitcases. I will go with two small suitcases," he said in his address at the India Islamic Cultural Centre.

The statement, that came on a day when polling was held to elect his successor, evoked a huge round of applause.

The President went on to add that besides the two suitcases, he had a big reserve of books that he would be taking with him.

"I will take the books with me. They are my own books," said Kalam, who plans to teach at Anna University, Tamil Nadu, after his tenure is over.

The 75-year-old Scientist-President, who turned philosophical and nostalgic in turns, recalled how his father had taught him not to accept any gifts.

"Yesterday, a well-known person gave me a gift of two pens. I had to return them with unhappiness," he said, also quoting from the ancient Hindu code of law `Manusmriti' that by accepting gifts the divine light in the person gets extinguished.

"I am sharing this thought with all of you since no one should get carried away by any gift which comes with a purpose and through which one loses his personality greatly," he said.

Kalam, who said he visualised India as a developed nation by 2020, hoped it would become a country where economic development was coupled with moral values.

"There are many economically developed nations that are not happy. Since we have a big value system and are blessed with a rich heritage, we can make our country a combination of economic development and moral values that are derived from our civilisation," he said.

"This is how we can build a happy, prosperous and safe India," Kalam said.

He said he visualised an India where the rural and urban divide has been reduced to a thin line, where there is equitable distribution and access to energy and water and where education with value system is not denied to any meritorious candidates because of societal or economic discrimination.

Underlining the importance of respecting all religions, he said he was influenced by all faiths as he grew up.

"Our country has had this advantage of integration of minds for thousands of years and we should continue to nurture this," Kalam said.


Great person. A rare species in current India.

07-19-2007, 10:23 PM

Does it work the same way in india or would Pratibha would get blanket immunity for cheating, nepotism and murder etc?

My guess would be the latter. <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' />

QUOTEChirac faces Paris scandal judge

Mr Chirac enjoys presidential immunity in two other investigations
Former French President Jacques Chirac was questioned for four hours by a magistrate probing a party funding scandal from his time as Paris mayor.

.......

Mr Chirac still enjoys presidential immunity in the investigation into the death of a French judge in Djibouti and in the so-called Clearstream affair, regarding an alleged attempt to smear Nicolas Sarkozy before he succeeded Mr Chirac as president.

The immunity does not apply to the period before he became president, when he was mayor of Paris.

07-19-2007, 10:45 PM

QUOTEDoes it work the same way in india or would Pratibha would get blanket immunity for cheating, nepotism and murder etc? 
Blanket immunity
Even President OBL will get blanket immunity.

07-20-2007, 03:49 AM

QUOTEU-turns, abstentions mark bitterest poll 
Nidhi Sharma | New DelhiÂ
88.5% MPs, 91% MLAs vote
There were many twists and turns in the final lap of the race for Raisina Hill. As the Electoral College voted on Thursday to elect the 13th President of India, there were several last minute turnarounds, which added to the drama in one of the most bitterly fought presidential elections that the country has witnessed.

Polling started at 10 am in Parliament and the various State Assemblies. Of the effective strength of 770 MPs, 682 or 88.5% of the total MPs in the Electoral College voted in the presidential election. Of these, 59 opted to vote in their State capitals. The voter turnout was slightly better in the case of MLAs as 91% of the 4,120 MLAs cast their votes.

Rajasthan saw 100 per cent polling as all the 200 MLAs voted in the election. There were seven other States and Union Territories which reflected a similar encouraging trend. These included Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Manipur, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Pudducherry. Delhi missed out as one of its 70 MLAs did not vote. The election also saw four jailed MPs - Shibu Soren (JMM), Shahabuddin (RJD), Babubhai Katara (BJP) and Pappu Yadav (RJD) - not missing out on the opportunity of exercising their franchise.

The most interesting aspect of the election was that the MPs and MLAs defied party diktat while exercising their voting rights all across the country. The first ripples of excitement were felt early in the morning in Parliament House when two AIADMK MPs queued up to cast their vote. As many as five of the 12 AIADMK MPs also cast their votes in Parliament House.

The surprises did not end here. Samajwadi Party MPs and MLAs voted openly, despite the Third Front's resolve to abstain. Four party MPs, Beni Prasad, Munnavar Hussain, Atiq Ahmad and suspended member Raj Babbar cast their votes in Parliament House. Five party MLAs voted in Madhya Pradesh.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said, "This is the call of conscience. I support Advani only on one matter - his call of the conscience." Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh also poked fun at BJP's call for a conscience vote and said: "The conscience call came from the wrong person."

Despite being in Government, ruling parties in one State abstained. The Mizo National Front and its coalition partner, the Mizoram Congress Party stayed away and the State saw only 15 of 40 legislators casting their votes. The turnout was poor in Meghalaya also where 36 of 60 MLAs chose to vote.

Senior leaders likened the close contest to the 1969 face-off between VV Giri and Sanjeeva Reddy. After casting his vote, George Fernandes said: "There is a lot of similarity between this election and that of 1969." The heir-apparent of the Gandhi-Nehru family Rahul Gandhi, however, disagreed and said that it was a normal election.

Angry at the lack of clarity on the part of the UPA Government over a separate Telangana State, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had announced on Wednesday that it would abstain. However, nine TRS MLAs rebelled against the call.

The National Conference had sprung a surprise when it declared that it would not abstain. Senior leader Farooq Abdullah came to Parliament at around 2 pm to cast his vote. However, Abdullah refused to clarify whether his party was supporting the Congress or not. When asked if the National Conference was really with the Congress, he said: "I don't know. I can't say."

In Gujarat, a rebel BJP MLA, who did not want to be identified, said about 15 MLAs voted for Pratibha to register their protest against Chief Minister Narendra Modi's style of functioning.

07-20-2007, 03:51 AM

QUOTE
When polling began in the morning, there was a buzz of excitement as there was speculation that the AIADMK and MDMK would ditch the UNPA at the last moment and vote in favour of Shekhawat. AIADMK legislators started trickling in, and the media waited in the hope that Jayalalithaa herself would cast her vote in the course of the day, and also explain her decision of going against the UNPA decision.

Some political observers say the AIADMK's heart was always with Shekhawat, and that Jayalalithaa had found a way to both get her party legislators to vote for him, and to maintain her relations with the UNPA at the same time. It is believed that she had pleaded in vain with other leaders of the front that they should back Shekhawat in order to defeat Pratibha Patil

07-20-2007, 07:03 PM

07-20-2007, 11:49 PM

QUOTEKalam to vacate Rashtrapati Bhavan, with his two suitcases. (in stark contrast with others before him, or the next likely person to the post)

Compared to Kalam saheb, I'm sure when Ms. Stickyfingers Patil vacates Rashtrapati Bhavan in another 5 years or so, people could insist on doing a full search of items she'll be leaving with.

Meanwhile some seem to be ready to cut their nose to spite the face. Shiv Sena Thackeray seems to have set a fine example for these 'rebels' in Gujarat and Andhra

And last but not least, Jailed Shahabuddin goes to vote in 6-car convoy
How nice? The length these criminals will go to scratch each other's back.
Who's paying for 6-car convoy to transport a convict?

07-21-2007, 12:40 AM

<!--emo&

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /> While official results will be declared on Saturday, in the interest of almost 7000 viewers and 220 replies; it has been decided to continue this discussion till Vice-Prez elections are over to drive home the purpose of this discussion.
Jai Hind.

07-21-2007, 08:56 PM

QUOTEanother 5 years or so, people could insist on doing a full search of items she'll be leaving with.
Not after five years, but they should make inventory of every item before she enter President palace and compare when she leaves, it should be public, she is public servant. They should monitor who lelse lives in PP. Now CHOR will become India's President , that will be first time in Indian History. What a shame!

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