News Analysis India

Tag: Manmohan Singh

  • Manmohan Singh, the hero of India’s economic liberalisation, bids adieu to Rajya Sabha after three decades

    Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (91) bid adieu to the Rajya Sabha today, marking the end of his remarkable three-decade-long tenure.

    AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge paid tribute to Singh’s dedicated service, expressing admiration for his unwavering commitment to the nation. Kharge in a post on X wrote, “As you retire today from the Rajya Sabha after having served for more than three decades, an era comes to an end. Very few people can say they have served our nation with more dedication and more devotion than you. Very few people have accomplished as much as you for the nation and its people.”

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi some time back had also lauded his role as a member of the upper house and said his contributions would never be forgotten. Modi also said that Singh sometimes came to vote while being on a wheelchair, and that he did to strengthen democracy.Singh, who first entered the Rajya Sabha in 1991, served multiple terms and faced a brief hiatus in 2019 before being re-elected from Rajasthan. He held the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 1998 to 2004.

    Manmohan Singh’s journey as a Rajya Sabha member began in 1991 following his tenure as the Finance Minister in the Rao government. He secured re-election in 1995, 2001, 2007, and 2013. Despite an unsuccessful attempt in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from South Delhi, where he was defeated by BJP’s Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Singh maintained his presence in the Rajya Sabha.

    Representing Assam for five consecutive terms from October 1, 1991, to June 14, 2019, Singh later resumed his tenure in the House from Rajasthan. Since August 20, 2019, he has represented Rajasthan, with his current term slated to conclude on April 3, 2024. During his tenure, Singh served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from March 21, 1998, to May 21, 2004. He has often been accused by the BJP for running a government that was marred by corruption. The party had also termed “MaunMohan Singh”, alleging he did not speak out against corrupt leaders in his cabinet. Singh had, however, hoped that “to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition parties in Parliament”.Of late, he has has not been keeping good health and has often been seen attending the Rajya Sabha proceedings, especially during crucial voting, on a wheelchair.

  • 54 MPs including ex-PM Manmohan Singh, 9 Union ministers retiring from Rajya Sabha

    As many as 54 members of the Rajya Sabha including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and nine union ministers are set to retire on Tuesday and Wednesday with some not returning to the Upper House. Former prime minister Singh ends his 33-year-long parliamentary innings in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday (April 3), just as former party chief Sonia Gandhi will enter the Upper House of Parliament for the first time.

    Singh, who is known for ushering in several bold reforms in the economy, became a member of the House for the first time in October 1991. He was the finance minister in the Narasimha Rao government from 1991 to 1996 and the prime minister from 2004 to 2014.

    Sonia Gandhi will enter the Upper House for the first time from Rajasthan, filling the seat that will fall vacant after 91-year-old Singh completes his tenure on April 3. Seven Union ministers — Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Purshottam Rupala, Information Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS External Affairs V Muraleedharan, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Narayan Rane and MoS Information and Broadcasting L Murugan — end their tenure in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

    Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will end their tenure on Wednesday.

    All these Union ministers, except Vaishnaw, are contesting the Lok Sabha elections and have not been given another term in the Upper House. Vaishnaw and Murugan have been given another Rajya Sabha term. As many as 49 members are retiring on Tuesday (April 2), while five are retiring on Wednesday (April 3).

    Of those retiring from the Upper House include Samajwadi Party’s Jaya Bachchan who has been renominated to the Council of States by her party for another term. So is Manoj Kumar Jha, who has been renominated by his party RJD for another term in the Rajya Sabha from Bihar, and Naseer Hussain (Congress), who has been renominated from Karnataka.

    Abhishek Singhvi of the Congress party, whose tenure in Rajya Sabha ends today will not be in the upper house as he lost his election from Himachal Pradesh.

    Among others who will be retiring include BJP’s national media in-charge Anil Baluni, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Garhwal seat in Uttarakhand,

    Besides, BJP’s Prakash Javadekar, a former union minister and Sushil Kumar Modi, former deputy chief minister of Bihar, also retire from the Rajya Sabha and have not been renominated by the party.

    BJP’s Anil Jain also retires on Tuesday as he has not been given another term by the party and so has Saroj Pandey from Chhattisgarh, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election in the state.

  • Economic reforms by Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister gave new direction to India: Gadkari

    Lauding the economic reforms initiated by Manmohan Singh, he said that the country is indebted to the former Prime Minister for these.

  • Presidential poll: Manmohan Singh arrives in wheelchair to cast vote

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday arrived in Parliament to cast his vote for the presidential poll in a wheelchair.

    Singh, 89, has been unwell after he tested positive for Covid last year, and has been away from the limelight since then.

    Last October, he was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he complained of weakness following fever.

    Former Prime Minister and Congress MP Dr Manmohan Singh cast his vote for the Presidential election, today at the Parliament. pic.twitter.com/H6jl3O7hlb
    — ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022
    The former PM had contracted Covid last year during the height of the second coronavirus wave.

    Voting for the presidential election in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint Opposition pick Yashwant Sinha began at 10 am and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote followed by BJP President JP Nadda. The voting process would conclude at 5 pm.

    Similarly, another veteran leader, Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, also arrived to cast his vote on a wheel chair accompanied by his brother Ram Gopal Yadav.

    Yadav, 82, has been unwell for quite some time and has been in an out of hospital in the last year due to various ailments.

    BJP leader Pradipta Kumar Naik, who is the leader of opposition in the Odisha Assembly also arrived on a wheel chair with an oxygen cylinder straight from the hospital. He was admitted to a private hospital here for post-Covid complications.

    While 616 MPs and nine MLAs cast their vote here till 1pm, they recorded a voting percentage of 83 per cent. Counting of votes will be held on July 21.

    NEW DELHI: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday arrived in Parliament to cast his vote for the presidential poll in a wheelchair.

    Singh, 89, has been unwell after he tested positive for Covid last year, and has been away from the limelight since then.

    Last October, he was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he complained of weakness following fever.

    Former Prime Minister and Congress MP Dr Manmohan Singh cast his vote for the Presidential election, today at the Parliament. pic.twitter.com/H6jl3O7hlb
    — ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022
    The former PM had contracted Covid last year during the height of the second coronavirus wave.

    Voting for the presidential election in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint Opposition pick Yashwant Sinha began at 10 am and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote followed by BJP President JP Nadda. The voting process would conclude at 5 pm.

    Similarly, another veteran leader, Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, also arrived to cast his vote on a wheel chair accompanied by his brother Ram Gopal Yadav.

    Yadav, 82, has been unwell for quite some time and has been in an out of hospital in the last year due to various ailments.

    BJP leader Pradipta Kumar Naik, who is the leader of opposition in the Odisha Assembly also arrived on a wheel chair with an oxygen cylinder straight from the hospital. He was admitted to a private hospital here for post-Covid complications.

    While 616 MPs and nine MLAs cast their vote here till 1pm, they recorded a voting percentage of 83 per cent. Counting of votes will be held on July 21.

  • ‘50% below 50 from block to CWC’ set to lead to major leadership revamp in Congress

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: With the Congress looking at 50 per cent of office-bearers, including the Congress Working Committee (CWC), being below the age group of 50 years, a major overhaul in the party’s highest decision-making body and AICC committees and departments seems to be in the offing. The present average age of CWC members is 68 years with not even one person being below 50 years.  

    The current CWC headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi has 55 members – 21 main members, 25 permanent invitees and nine special invitees. Among the 21 main members, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (50 years) is the youngest while Manmohan Singh (89) is the oldest.

    Several young party leaders, who were once close to Rahul Gandhi, have joined other parties citing better prospects. The prominent ones include Sushmita Dev, Jitin Prasada, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Pradyot Deb Barman among others. During his tenure as party chief from December 2017-August 2019, Rahul had inducted young leaders into various committees and departments to ensure a younger leadership profile.   

    But now, among 25 permanent invitees to the CWC, only Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore (47 years) is below 50, and among special invitees, only three — Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda (43 years), National Students Union of India (NSUI) head Neeraj Kundan and Indian Youth Congress chief BV Srinivas (41 years) — are in the under-50 bracket.

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    As the party started the three-day ‘Chintan Shivir’ in Udaipur, party general secretary Ajay Maken announced that the party is considering ensuring that 50 per cent of all office-bearers from the top to bottom will be below 50 years of the age, keeping in mind the country’s youths.

    ’50 below 50 from block to CWC’ is the term coined by the committee on youth.  

    An analysis of other key committees and posts in the party’s central office shows that a major revamp has to be carried out to implement this goal. The party’s five-member Central Election Authority has only one person below the age of 50 – Kerala MP S Jothimani (47 years).

    Among nine general secretaries in the Congress, none is below 50 years. Among state in-charges, there is just Telangana in-charge, Manickam Tagore (47), who falls in this category.

    ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhi takes train to Udaipur to attend Congress’s three-day Chintan Shivir

    In several AICC committees, the party has constituted, former Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot (44 years) is part of the group to look into future challenges while the publicity and publication wing has Milind Deora  (45 years). The data cell chief Parveen Chakravarty  (49 years), party spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill (38 years) and social media cell head Rohan Gupta  (44 years) are other notable under-50-year-olds. There is also former MP Meenakshi Natarajn (48 years) in the manifesto committee.

  • Haridwar hate speech case: ‘Will add more names and issue notices’, says Uttarakhand police

    By Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: After sending notices to two accused  – Jitendra Narayan Tyagi and Annapurna Maa – in the Haridwar hate speech case, the state police will add more names and issue notices, said officials. 

    “Notices have been sent to Annapurna Maa and Jitendra Narayan Tyagi to appear for questioning. Notice will be sent to the third accused in the FIR, Dharamdas Maharaj. He was not present to receive the notice. More names are likely to be added in the FIR as the investigation progresses,” said a senior state police official .

    After outrage over video clips from the Dharma Sansad in Haridwar from December 17-19 where anti-minority comments were made and a participant said he would have emptied his revolver in the chest of former PM Manmohan Singh, Uttarakhand police registered a case against Tyagi. Later, the names of Annapurna Maa alias Pooja Shakun Pandey and Dharamdas were added. 

    The complaint was made by Gulbahar Khan, a resident of Jwalapur area in the district.  Haridwar police has registered cases under Section 153 A of the Indian Penal Code.

  • Ex-PM Manmohan Singh recovering from bout of dengue, wife Gursharan Kaur thanks well-wishers

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A day after former prime minister Manmohan Singh was discharged from AIIMS, his wife Gursharan Kaur on Monday said he was recovering from a bout of dengue fever.

    In a statement, she thanked all doctors, nurses, and support staff of AIIMS and friends and well-wishers for their whole-hearted support towards his speedy recovery.

    “My family and I are pleased to inform all our friends and well wishers that Dr Manmohan Singh has come home from the hospital and is recovering from his bout of dengue fever,” she said.

    “On this occasion, we would like to convey our special thanks to all the doctors, nurses, and support staff of AIIMS and numerous well-wishers fir their whole-hearted support and hard work for his speedy recovery,” Gursharan Kaur added.

    The former prime minister was undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here and he was discharged on Sunday.

    Singh was admitted to the hospital on October 13 after feeling weak following a fever.

    The 89-year-old Congress leader was admitted in a private ward at the Cardio-Neuro Centre and was treated by a team of cardiologists led by Dr Nitish Naik.

  • Former PM Manmohan Singh discharged from AIIMS

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Former prime minister Manmohan Singh who was undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was discharged on Sunday, hospital sources said.

    Singh was admitted to the premier hospital on October 13 after complaints of fever, weakness and general uneasiness.

    The 89-year-old Congress leader was admitted in a private ward at the Cardio-Neuro Centre and was treated by a team of cardiologists led by Dr Nitish Naik, who has been the physician to the Singh for years.0

    Earlier this month, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited the hospital to meet him.

    The former prime minister has a history of cardiac ailments and even underwent a revision heart bypass surgery at AIIMS in 2009. In April, Singh was admitted to the hospital after he tested positive for Covid. 

  • Ex-PM Manmohan Singh discharged from AIIMS

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh who was undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here was discharged on Sunday, October 31, 2021, hospital sources said.

    Singh was admitted to the hospital on October 13 after feeling weak following a fever.

    The 89-year-old Congress leader was admitted in a private ward at the Cardio-Neuro Centre and was treated by a team of cardiologists led by Dr Nitish Naik.

    Earlier this month, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited the hospital to meet him.

  • Ex-CAG Vinod Rai tenders unconditional apology to Sanjay Nirupam in defamation case

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: Former CAG Vinod Rai on Thursday apologised to Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam in a defamation case filed by the latter.

    The case was being heard in the Patiala House court in Delhi.

    Sanjay Nirupam said, “Finally former CAG Vinod Rai tendered an unconditional apology to me in a defamation case filed by me in MM Court, Patiala House, New Delhi today. He must apologize to the nation now for all his forged reports about 2G and Coal block allocations done by the UPA Govt.”

    The case pertains to a book which was written by Vinod Rai in 2015 and during its publicity allegedly had said that when he was investigating the coal block allocation, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam had met him and told him not to mention Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s name.

    The Congress leader said it was totally false and first he asked him to withdraw his comment, but when did not do so, he filed a case in the Patiala House Court.

    In his affidavit, Rai said, “That I understand the pain and agony my statement had caused to Shri Sanjay Nirupam, his family and well-wishers, I offer my unconditional apology.”

    He said, “I had inadvertently and wrongly mentioned the name Sanjay Nirupam as one of the MPs who had pressured me to keep the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s name out of CAG report on 2G spectrum during the meeting of PAC and JPC.”

    He said Nirupam’s name was factually incorrect.

    In 2017, a special CBI court had acquitted all the 18 accused, including A Raja and  Kanimozhi, in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

    The scam came to light almost seven years ago when the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in a report held then Telecom Minister A Raja responsible for causing the state exchequer a loss of Rs 1,76,379 crore by allocating 2G spectrum licences at throwaway prices.