Opposition unity beyond Presidential election: Sinha
NEW DELHI: As the National Democratic Alliance’s Droupadi Murmu emerged victorious after the counting of votes for the presidential election ends, the joint opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, congratulated Murmu for being elected as the 15th President of India.
In his official statement on Thursday, Sinha mentioned, “I hope — indeed, every Indian hope — that as the 15th President of India she (Draupadi Murmu) functions as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour. I join my fellow countrymen in extending best wishes to her.”
Expressing gratitude to all opposition parties, the senior politician added to his official statement that said, “I accepted the offer of Opposition parties solely guided by the philosophy of Karma Yoga... I have performed my duty conscientiously out of my love for my country. The issues I had raised during my campaign remain pertinent.”
However, the former BJP leader, who resigned from the party in 2018, after a disagreement with the Modi government and BJP, also emphasised that despite the outcome of the election, the Presidential election has benefited Indian cerns and commitments of the Opposition parties on major issues before the nation and the common people. In particular, I voiced strong concern over the blatant and rampant weaponisation of ED, CBI, Income Tax department and even the office of Governor against Opposition parties and their leaders. These institutions are also being misused to engineer defections and topple Opposition-run state governments. India has never seen political corruption of such magnitude.”
“This, coupled with the poisonous politics of polarisation, poses a grave danger to democracy and communal harmony in India.I am happy that my views found strong resonance among the CMs, leaders, MPs and MLAs belonging to Opposition parties in all the states I visited. Common people have also supported these views,” the statement added.
The presidential election counting was held in Room No 63 in Parliament House and NDA’s candidate Draupadi Murmu crossed the 50 per cent mark securing her win in the presidential battle against Opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha by a huge margin. Murmu secured a vote value of 5, 77,777. Whereas, Sinha secured 2, 61,062. Reportedly 17 MPs cross-voted in Murmu’s favour.