President invites Manmohan to be PM, UPA claims support of 322 MPs

July 9th, 2009 L'AQUILA - Prime MInister Manmohan Singh briefly met with US President Barack Obama during the outreach meeting of G8 and G5 leaders at their summit here Thursday. Both leaders shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, Indian officials said here.

June 27th, 2009 Russia's Putin invites role for Shell in SakhalinMOSCOW — Russia's RIA news agency says Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has invited Royal Dutch Shell PLS to participate in developing two oil fields on Sakhalin island. The news agency quotes Putin as telling Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer that his company's participation in the Sakhalin 3 and Sakhalin 4 projects is "highly possible." In 2007, Shell was forced to sell its controlling stake in Sakhalin 2 to state-controlled Gazprom for $7.5 billion as the Kremlin stepped up pressure on foreign energy companies in an effort to consolidate control over Russia's largest hydrocarbon deposits.

May 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Underlining global confidence in India's growing stature, French President Nicolas Sarkozy Friday warmly congratulated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his re-election and invited him to Paris as chief guest on France's national day July 14. 'Through the elections which were recently concluded and which constitute a remarkable testimony to their attachment to democracy, the Indian people have chosen to repose once again their trust in the representatives of the Congress Party and the alliance that it leads,' Sarkozy said in his message to Manmohan Singh.

May 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will today meet President Pratibha Patil to discuss the details of swearing in ceremony.

May 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Congress leader Manmohan Singh will Friday be sworn in as prime minister of India for the second consecutive term after President Pratibha Patil invited him to head the government and asked him to advise her on the council of ministers. Armed with the support of 322 MPs, including the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) met the president at Rashtrapati Bhavan Wednesday evening to stake claim to form a government.

May 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - President Pratibha Devisingh Patil invited the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to form the new Government at the centre after he claimed that he had the support of 322 members of Parliament.

May 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh Tuesday handed over a letter of support for the formation of a Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to President Pratibha Patil. Amar Singh said his party's support to a government under the leadership of Manmohan Singh was not politics of opportunism.

May 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Manmohan Singh was Tuesday elected leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party, with party president Sonia Gandhi saying his record of the last five years was an inspiration for all. Sonia Gandhi proposed Manmohan Singh's name at a meeting of the newly-elected Congress MPs held at parliament's Central Hall.

May 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With Sonia Gandhi content to stay in the background, a beaming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday invited all parties to support 'a secular government'. Clearly the man of the moment, Manmohan Singh said after a meeting with the Congress chief at her residence 10 Janpath: 'I invite all parties to support the secular goverment.

May 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With the political pendulum swinging from one coalition to the next given the expected fractured verdict in the 2009 general elections, the onus will be on President Pratibha Devisingh Patil to exercise neutrality in government selection. As a hung Parliament is widely expected, Patil will have three options: (1) Invite the single largest party (2) Invite the single largest pre-poll alliance (3) Invite the largest post-poll formation with letters of support According to sources in Rashtrapati Bhavan, Patil is being briefed about what her predecessors in office did in similar situations.

May 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi was living in a 'dream world' if he believed the Left would support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a post poll scenario, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Tuesday. 'Let him (Rahul Gandhi) live in his own dream world.

May 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said his party had ideological differences with the Left parties but was confident of their support to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the post poll scenario. Stating that the 'field is open' for post-poll alliances, Rahul Gandhi said: 'We will do better than last time.

April 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Reiterating his charge that Manmohan Singh is a weak prime minister, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani said Manmohan Singh had 'voluntarily abdicated authority'.

March 28th, 2009 PATNA - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been invited to contest the Lok Sabha election from Bihar by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Pappu Yadav. 'I invite Manmohan Singh, the world's most honest politician, to contest from any seat of Kosi and Purnia region.

January 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Describing it as 'a historic occasion for all freedom loving people', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday congratulated US President Barack Obama on assuming office and hoped the multi-faceted India-US ties will get a boost during his presidency. Manmohan Singh also invited Obama and his spouse Michelle to visit India and underlined that he looked forward to working with the US president to 'address regional and global issues of common concern'.