Governor hosts banquet for Pranab

Governor H R Bhardwaj hosted a banquet in honour of President Pranab Mukherjee at Raj Bhavan in Bangalore on Monday evening. A select group of 50 to 60 persons, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his cabinet colleagues Ramalinga Reddy, Dinesh Gundu Rao, T B Jayachandra, Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka D H Waghela, chief secretary S V Ranganath, DG&IGP Lalrokhuma Pachau and freedom fighter H S Doreswamy had been invited for the banquet.

A musical evening was also organised on the occasion. Bhardwaj handed over the first copy of the book ‘Karnataka - A Cultural Odyssey,’ depicting the rich cultural heritage of the State and brought out jointly by the State government and Raj Bhavan, to the President.

Earlier in the day, Mukherjee received a guard of honour by members of the Indian Air Force (IAF) soon after his arrival at the HAL airport by a special aircraft.

The President, who arrived in Bangalore after inaugurating the new building of the JSS Hospital in Mysore, was received by the Governor and chief minister.

Transport Minister R Ramalinga Reddy, who is also the district incharge Minister of Bangalore Urban and Bangalore Mayor B S Satyanarayana were present.

On Tuesday, Mukherjee will leave for Bijapur via Belgaum and participate in the golden jubilee celebrations of the Sainik School. He will leave for Chennai via Belgaum the same day.