E-Paper
President Kovind begins 4-day Himachal trip today, to address special assembly session
President Ram Nath Kovind will be addressing a special session of the Himachal Pradesh assembly on the occasion of the golden jubilee of statehood.
President of India Ram Nath Kovind will today begin his four-day visit to Himachal Pradesh, during which he will address a special session of the state assembly.
According to a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday, the President's September 16-19 Himachal trip will coincide with the golden jubilee celebrations of the statehood of Himachal Pradesh. The President will also be the chief guest at the valedictory ceremony of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service at the National Academy of Audit and Accounts at Shimla.
As per a Himachal administration official cited by the PTI news agency, the President will be staying at the Cecil hotel at Chaura Maidan in Shimla and not at The Retreat - his residence at Chharabra - since four of its employees had tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) last week.
Himachal Pradesh, one of the 11 mountainous territories of India, was granted full statehood in 1971. Since this year marks 50 years since that date, a special session of the Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly is being organised on the occasion of the golden jubilee of statehood. According to the press release issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Kovind will grace and address the special session of the Himachal assembly at 11am on September 17 (Friday).
Kovind will be the third President of India to address the Himachal Pradesh state assembly. Former presidents Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Pranab Mukherjee had addressed the state assembly in 2003 and 2013, respectively. In addition to the sitting MLAs, all the former MLAs, including former chief ministers Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal, have also been invited to attend the special session, the official cited by the news agency added.
A group photo of the President with the current and former legislators will also be taken as a memory at the assembly.
On September 18, the President will grace the valedictory ceremony of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer trainees of the 2018 and 2019 batches at the National Academy of Audit and Accounts in Shimla.
