GEARING UP FOR A PRESIDENTIAL CLASH
Opposition’s presidential candidate Meira Kumar at Parliament House in New Delhi with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, NCP’s Sharad Pawar, former PM Manmohan Singh, other Opposition leaders and Congress chief ministers. Ms Kumar filed her nomination papers for the presidential contest on Wednesday.
From today, our fight of ideology has started. This ideology is based on democratic values, inclusiveness in society, freedom of press and individuals
— Meira Kumar
The Opposition bloc’s presidential candidate Meira Kumar on Wednesday filed her nomination in the presence of top Congress and Opposition leaders and said it marked the beginning of her “fight for ideology”. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who accompanied Ms Kumar, 72, along with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja, TMC’s Derek O Brien and other opposition leaders, said “For us, it is a battle of ideologies, principles and truth and we will fight it.” Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who filed the fourth set of nomination papers on behalf of the NDA’s presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind minutes before Ms Kumar filed her nomination at the same venue, said there was no ideology invloved as the issue was about the post of President which is a Constitutional post. The senior BJP leader claimed that the NDA presidential nominee was comfortably placed as not just NDA even few nonNDA non-UPA outfits were supporting Mr Kovind.
“We are confident that our nominee, who is widely acceptable to one and all as he is the most suitable candidate, will get elected by a comfortable margin,” Mr Naidu said.
Ms Kumar will launch her campaign from the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on June 30th.
Speaking to the media after filing her nomination, Ms Kumar said, “From today, our fight of ideology has started. This ideology is based on democratic values, inclusiveness in society, freedom of the press and individuals, end of poverty, transparency and destruction of caste structure.” The former Lok Sabha Speaker also said that she doesn’t merely believe in talking about this ideology, but in implementing it.
Ms Kumar rubbished suggestions that the Presidential election was a ‘Dalit versus Dalit’ contest. Echoing the same sentiments, Mrs Gandhi said “For us, it is a battle of ideologies, principles and truth and we will fight it.” Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is abroad visiting his grandmother, tweeted “Against the ideology of divisiveness she represents the values that bind us as a nation and people. Proud to have Meira Kumar ji as our candidate.” CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury also said that the presidential poll is not a ‘Dalit versus Dalit’ contest but a fight to safeguard and strengthen the Indian republic. In a Facebook post, Mr Yechury claimed that the fight for the opposition was to safeguard the republic against a candidate who was backed by parties set to “destroy” the republic’s foundations and “our fundamental values.”