Pratibha Patil Tenure

Wrapping up the last foreign tour before her tenure comes to an end on July 25, President Pratibha Patil returned to India on Tuesday after a nine-day visit to the Seychelles and South Africa.

The government today sought to put an end to a controversy, generated by President Pratibha Patil taking her two grandchildren on a nine-day state visit to Seychelles and South Africa, saying it is a "normal diplomatic practice".

"I am not a mad man. I am a realist and I know my limitations," was how Defence Minister AK Antony reacted when asked whether he was a candidate for the Presidential elections. "There should be a limit to ambition...That is madness," he said, virtually ruling himself out of the race for elections in July when the tenure of President Pratibha Patil...

President Pratibha Patil's foreign travel has cost the public exchequer a whopping Rs 205 crore on her foreign visits, surpassing the record of all her predecessors. Since assuming office as the country's first woman President in July 2007, Patil has undertaken 12 foreign trips covering 22 countries across four continents. She has four more months...

Wrapping up the last foreign tour before her tenure comes to an end on July 25, President Pratibha Patil returned to India on Tuesday after a nine-day visit to the Seychelles and South Africa.

The government today sought to put an end to a controversy, generated by President Pratibha Patil taking her two grandchildren on a nine-day state visit to Seychelles and South Africa, saying it is a "normal diplomatic practice".

"I am not a mad man. I am a realist and I know my limitations," was how Defence Minister AK Antony reacted when asked whether he was a candidate for the Presidential elections. "There should be a limit to ambition...That is madness," he said, virtually ruling himself out of the race for elections in July when the tenure of President Pratibha Patil...

President Pratibha Patil's foreign travel has cost the public exchequer a whopping Rs 205 crore on her foreign visits, surpassing the record of all her predecessors. Since assuming office as the country's first woman President in July 2007, Patil has undertaken 12 foreign trips covering 22 countries across four continents. She has four more months...