New Delhi: As Pranab Mukherjee gets ready to be sworn in as the 13th President of India, the farewell ceremonies for the outgoing President Pratibha Patil have begun.
Pratibha gave her farewell speech in the Rajya Sabha earlier on Monday evening. The Prime Minister is hosting a farewell dinner for President Pratibha Patil at Hyderabad House in the capital.
Pratibha will host a dinner for President-elect Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with his cabinet colleagues in New Delhi on Tuesday.
In her farewell speech to Parliamentarians in New Delhi, Pratibha pointed out that varied political thinking is a part of any legislature and more in a country as large and diverse as India. Though this adds to the "vibrancy" of our democratic institutions, it also poses a challenge as a multiplicity of expectations is to be met.
Pratibha cautioned MPs not to voice their dissensions in Parliament at the cost of serious debate and legislations and maintained that they should keep abreast of new developments in technology and information explosion while making laws.
The outgoing President also pointed out that in the last two decades there have been changes "such as information explosion, technological innovations, increasing economic prosperity, growing materialism and in its midst the danger of losing values".
With Additional Inputs From PTI
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.
Disclaimer: TV18 Broadcast Limited is proposing, subject to market conditions and other considerations, an offer of its equity shares on rights basis and has filed a Draft Letter of Offer with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The Draft Letter of Offer is available on the website of SEBI at