Rahul salutes Magsaysay winners
New Delhi, July 27: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday congratulated Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk on their winning the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award this year.
"Two Indians, Bharat Vatwani, who has devoted his life to serving the mentally ill on the streets and Sonam Wangchuk, a Ladakhi inventor, are recipients of the prestigious Magsaysay Award, 2018. I congratulate them both and salute their achievements," Gandhi tweeted.
Gandhi's remarks came a day after Vatwani and Wangchuk were named for this year's Ramon Magsaysay award, along with four others.
The board of trustees recognized Vatwani, for "his tremendous courage and healing compassion in embracing India's mentally-afflicted destitute, and his steadfast and magnanimous dedication to the work of restoring and affirming the human dignity of even the most ostracized in our midst".
Wangchuk, the inspiration behind the hugely popular Bollywood movie "Three Idiots", has been recognized for "his uniquely systematic, collaborative and community-driven reform of learning systems in remote northern India, thus improving the life opportunities of Ladakhi youth, and his constructive engagement of all sectors in local society to harness science and culture creatively for economic progress, thus setting an example for minority peoples in the world.
The Ramon Magsaysay award, widely known as Asia's premier prize, is now in its 60th year of "honouring greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in selfless service to the peoples of Asia".
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Maharashtra polls: Nominations of 7,994 candidates across 288 assembly seats found valid
Mumbai (PTI): The nomination papers of 7,994 candidates filed across the 288 assembly constituencies in Maharashtra, where polling will take place on November 20, were found valid after scrutiny, election officials have said.
On the other hand, the nomination papers of 921 candidates were found invalid, the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said in a statement on Thursday.
The process of filing nominations by candidates began on October 22 and ended on October 29.
The papers submitted by contestants were scrutinised on October 30, while the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is November 4.
Polling for the 288-member state assembly will be held on November 20 and results will be declared on November 23.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance, consisting of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), are the main contenders for power though smaller parties and independents are also in the poll fray.
