08-14-2006, 06:24 AM
:argueNation
<b>Kalam speech today; govt uneasy</b>
SANTWANA BHATTACHARYA
Posted online: Monday, August 14, 2006 at 0140 hours IST
Updated: Monday, August 14, 2006 at 0320 hours IST
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 13: This Independence Day-eve, the government is more than a bit jittery. And, itâs not just about the tense security situation. Rather itâs about what might be in store for them in President APJ Abdul Kalamâs August-14 address to the nation.
With the OoP Bill still hanging fire after two rounds of legislation, the ruling coalition is apprehensive of a coded admonition from President Kalam. This is, as a senior UPA minister said, the only speech the President ever makes that does not need Cabinet approval.
The government was hoping for an I-Day gift in the shape of a Presidential assent to the controversial Bill by Sunday evening. This has not fructified. Even if the 7 pm âaddress-to-the-nationâ goes without a hitch, members of the Cabinet and Parliament have to face Kalam earlier in the day for the opening of the Parliament Museum.
It will also be attended by Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet colleagues, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and leaders of all political parties. While walking through the period settings brought alive through sound-light-video synchronisation with multi-screen on Indian democratic traditions, ââone never knows what the President will tell usââ, a senior Congress leader said.
<b>Kalam speech today; govt uneasy</b>
SANTWANA BHATTACHARYA
Posted online: Monday, August 14, 2006 at 0140 hours IST
Updated: Monday, August 14, 2006 at 0320 hours IST
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 13: This Independence Day-eve, the government is more than a bit jittery. And, itâs not just about the tense security situation. Rather itâs about what might be in store for them in President APJ Abdul Kalamâs August-14 address to the nation.
With the OoP Bill still hanging fire after two rounds of legislation, the ruling coalition is apprehensive of a coded admonition from President Kalam. This is, as a senior UPA minister said, the only speech the President ever makes that does not need Cabinet approval.
The government was hoping for an I-Day gift in the shape of a Presidential assent to the controversial Bill by Sunday evening. This has not fructified. Even if the 7 pm âaddress-to-the-nationâ goes without a hitch, members of the Cabinet and Parliament have to face Kalam earlier in the day for the opening of the Parliament Museum.
It will also be attended by Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet colleagues, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and leaders of all political parties. While walking through the period settings brought alive through sound-light-video synchronisation with multi-screen on Indian democratic traditions, ââone never knows what the President will tell usââ, a senior Congress leader said.