New Delhi, May 16, 2009
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We’ll
try to persuade Rahul Gandhi to join the Cabinet: Manmohan
New
Delhi: Thanking the people of the country for the Congress led UPA’s stupendous
performance in the 2009 general election, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday
said that he would try to make party general secretary Rahul Gandhi a part of
the new Cabinet. Addressing media persons jointly with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi
at 10 Janpath here, Singh thanked the people of the country for the faith they
had shown in the Congress party. “It’s always my wish to have Rahul Gandhi in
my cabinet, but now we’ll have to persuade him to join us,” Singh said. He said
the thumping win of the Congress party was due to the untiring work that Sonia
Gandhi and Rahul had done during all the five years of the UPA’s regime. “Under
the visionary leadership of Sonia Gandhi and the sustained hardwork by our youth
leader Rahul Gandhi, we achieved the success,” Singh added. Congratulating the
people of the country on giving the UPA the mandate to form the next government,
Sonia Gandhi said people had revealed that they knew what was right for them.
“People of India know what’s good for them,” Gandhi said.
NCP will support Manmohan Singh as
PM: Pawar Top
Mumbai:
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has said his party will support
Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. “After this result, how can anyone else's subject
crop up,” said Pawar, who had made his prime ministerial ambitions clear before
the vote count. A stable government is the need of the hour in these times of
global recession, and the people of India have give their mandate to the UPA,
Pawar said. “People were confident that only the UPA could provide a stable government,
and with the results and trends available so far, there should be no hindrance
to the formation of a stable government,” Pawar told reporters here. With trends
indicating a clear edge to the UPA, an elated Congress on Saturday claimed that
it would sweep the elections and hinted at expanding the UPA by including "more
secular parties". “We will sweep the election. The Congress and its allies will
form the government. More secular parties can join us. Discussions are on in this
regard,” NDTV quoted senior Congress leader Motilal Vora, as saying. Answering
a question about the Congress' rise in the Hindi heartland, Vora said, “The Congress
is bettering its performance in UP because people have understood that only the
Congress can guarantee development for them.” Vora also praised the Gandhi family
and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for a good performance in UP.
Lalu
says not supporting Congress was a mistake Top
New
Delhi: Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday admitted
that not supporting the Congress was a mistake. “It’s the mandate for the people,”
Lalu said, adding that he harbored no grudges against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar. Lalu lost from the Pataliputra parliamentary seat to JD (U) rival Ranjan
Prasad Yadav, but won from the Saran constituency against BJP rival Rajiv Pratap
Rudy. Nitish Kumar, whose party registered major electoral gains in Bihar, didn’t
miss a chance to take a pot shot at Lalu. “The lantern (RJD''s election symbol)
has broken and the oil that was spilt set on fire the bungalow (LJP's symbol)
as the arrow (symbol of JD-U) was right on target,” he said. 'The people of Bihar
have the rejected negative politics pursued by RJD president Lalu Prasad and LJP
chief Ramvilas Paswan and have given a positive vote to my government which has
been successful in bringing about peace, communal harmony and development,” he
added. According to the latest trends, the JD(U) was leading in 32 of the 40 seats.
Hyderabad witnesses
first swine flu case in India Top
Hyderabad:
Hyderabad witnessed its first ever case of swine flu on Saturday when a 23-year-old
man was found to be infected with Influenza AH1N1. According to the Health Ministry,
the passenger travelled by Emirates Airline from New York to Hyderabad via Dubai.
He reached India on Wednesday morning and was quarantined after he was found to
be suffering from fever. “He was shifted to the identified isolation facility
under strict infection control. His samples have tested positive for Influenza
AH1N1,” a Health Ministry statement said. The person is being treated with anti-influenza
drugs Oseltamivir and Afebrile. All the passengers who came in contact with the
infected person are also being monitored. The passengers are being advised to
remain under home quarantine for a period of seven days and monitor themselves
for symptoms like fever, cough and difficulty in breathing.
Rahul Gandhi declines ministerial post
on Cabinet Top
Sultanpur:
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday declined to accept any
ministerial position in Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's second government,
saying he has already got a job to help the youth of the country to change the
political atmosphere. "I want youth to participate in politics. We need youngsters
in politics. I hope youngsters are listening to me," Gandhi told reporters here.
When asked about the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) victory, Gandhi said
the poor and youth of the country helped the Congress to win the elections. "This
country is progressing. The Congress party over the last five years believes that
India is progressing quickly. This progress belongs everybody, large masses of
this country. These elections are testament to the fact that the Congress believes
in unification, in clean politics, in honest politics," he added. Gandhi further
said that the people of Uttar Pradesh have rejected the politics of religion and
caste. "The people of UP have rejected the politics of religion, politics of caste.
They have voted for development," he added.
Maneka
Gandhi wins in Aonla after re-counting Top
Aonla:
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has
won the Aonla Parliamentary constituency after re-counting. Earlier, Maneka Gandhi
was declared to have lost by 22,000 votes to her rival Dharmendra Kashyap of the
Samajwadi Party (SP). But, later re-counting of votes took place and Gandhi was
declared winner. Meanwhile, Maneka's son Varun Gandhi has also won the Pilibhit
parliamentary seat.
Chidambaram
wins in Sivaganga after re-counting Top
Sivaganga:
Congress leader and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has won the Sivaganga
parliamentary constituency after re-counting. Earlier, Chidambaram was declared
to have lost to his All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) rival Raja
Kannappan. But, later re-counting of votes took place and Chidambaram was declared
winner.
Nuclear
weapons in safe hands: Musharraf Top
New
York: Dismissing international community's concerns about the safety of the country's
nuclear arsenal, former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has said that
Pakistan 's nuclear weapons are in safe and secure hands. General Musharraf said
the Pakistan Army has the capability to thwart any threat, and it is fully prepared
to tackle the challenge posed by the extremists to the nuclear assets. "Pakistani
armed forces together with its people will never let nuclear weapons fall into
the hands of extremist elements," The News quoted General Musharraf, as saying.
Backing the government's decision to launch a military offensive again the Taliban
and other extremists in the Swat Valley , General Musharraf said that military
action was the only option left to counter the expanding writ of the Taliban.
"The only way to end terrorism is to cease it to exist," he added. General Musharraf,
however, said that the situation of the country worsened only after he stepped
down. "The situation was much more under control when I stepped down. Now, the
government and army will have to jointly devise a strategy to overcome militancy
in Pakistan ," he said.
Musharraf
eyeing another term in office Top
Lahore:
With the country facing one of its major crises since its inception, former Pakistan
President General Pervez Musharraf is eyeing yet another term in office. "If Pakistan
is in trouble and if any Pakistani, myself included, if you can see that we can
do something for it, well my life is for Pakistan," General Musharraf said. In
an interview with CNN, General Musharraf admitted that the deals with the Taliban
several years ago were major government blunder. "It was not from a position of
strength," The Daily Times quoted General Musharraf, as saying. Earlier, Musharraf
said the Pakistan Army has the capability to thwart any threat, and it is fully
prepared to tackle the challenge posed by extremists to the nuclear assets. "Pakistani
armed forces together with its people will never let nuclear weapons fall into
the hands of extremist elements," Musharraf said. Backing the government's decision
to launch a military offensive again the Taliban and other extremists in the Swat
Valley, Musharraf said that military action was the only option left to counter
the expanding writ of the Taliban. "The only way to end terrorism is to cease
it to exist," he added. Musharraf, however, said that the situation of the country
worsened only after he stepped down. "The situation was much more under control
when I stepped down. Now, the government and army will have to jointly devise
a strategy to overcome militancy in Pakistan," he said.
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