Kalam wishes Pratibha Patil 'all the best'

NEW DELHI: With Pratibha Patil taking over as the next President on Wednesday, incumbent A P J Abdul Kalam today wished her "all the best" in her mission.

"I congratulate the President-elect Pratibha Patil on this historic occasion and wish her all the best in her mission," he said addressing MPs who bade him farewell in the Central Hall of Parliament.

While wishing Patil all the best, Kalam recollected with appreciation the contributions made by the past Presidents, each one bringing his own core competence to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Recalling his association with Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who quit as Vice President on Saturday, Kalam said he enjoyed working with him.

"Our former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, a remarkable person with a wide canvass of experience, has received general appreciation from all about the way in which he conducted the Rajya Sabha proceedings," he said.

Shekhawat, who resigned as the Vice President following his defeat in the Presidential poll, was not present at the farewell function, hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

Kalam, who addressed Parliament ten times during his five-year tenure, took the opportunity to congratulate Chatterjee for his efforts to create a hi-tech museum depicting the continuum of democratic heritage in the country and also his efforts in launching Lok Sabha TV for televising the proceedings.