Consensus candidate for President will be good for nation: Mamata
The West Bengal CM’s remarks came a day ahead of a meeting of the Opposition parties on the Presidential poll convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
A day before Opposition parties meet to decide their candidate for the Presidential poll, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday batted for a consensus candidate.
“The President is the custodian of the Constitution and it will be very good for the nation if we have a consensus candidate like APJ Abdul Kalam,” Banerjee said after her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
She, however, claimed that the two leaders didn’t talk about the Presidential poll and their discussions were only confined to development issues of West Bengal.
Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party indicated it was willing to join the Opposition meeting, shedding its political inhibitions against the Congress and some other parties.
“There is no reason not to attend such a meeting. But I am still unaware if the party has received any invitation or not. If at all, it would have come to the office of the national convener Arvind Kejriwal or Delhi convener Gopal Rai,” AAP spokesperson Ashutosh said.
Last week, Kejriwal and Banerjee had an exclusive meeting where the Delhi CM was convinced to support the Opposition candidate.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi will host a lunch at her residence before holding a meeting on the Presidential poll at the Parliament complex.
During her meeting with the Modi, Banerjee demanded release of funds for many projects. “Of the Rs 10,500 crore due, we have got only Rs 2,000 crore so far. I apprised the Prime Minister about the Rs 8,000 crore that is still due. He said he will look into the matter,” she said.
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