Former member of parliament, Satya Pal Jain who is also the representative of presidential candidate, PA Sangma on Wednesday raised objections against UPA presidential candidate, Pranab Mukherjee demanding that his candidature should be rejected.
While addressing a media conference at Press Club Chandigarh, BJP leader said that the Congress party leader held an office of profit and his candidature should be rejected.
Former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was the chairman of Indian Statistical Council and he resigned from the post recently.
Satya Pal alleged that the Pranab's signatures on his resignation papers and nomination papers for the post of President are fabricated and do not match.
He said that this raised questions and that the party demanded a clarification on the issue. "Why are the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and PM Manmohan Singh mum on the issue if there is nothing wrong. Signatures can differ if they are done in different languages but Pranab's signatures were in English", he said.
He further raised questions as to why the resignation letter was addressed only to Prof MGK Menon, president of Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. "Why was no copy of the letter sent to the government. Moreover, a diary number was not mentioned in the letter which is necessary for government proceedings."
{{/usCountry}}He further raised questions as to why the resignation letter was addressed only to Prof MGK Menon, president of Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. "Why was no copy of the letter sent to the government. Moreover, a diary number was not mentioned in the letter which is necessary for government proceedings."
{{/usCountry}}"There are too many discrepancies. We therefore pray that Pranab Mukherjee's nomination papers for the Presidential election may be rejected," he said.
Article 58 stipulates that a person contesting for President should not hold an office of profit, which includes government-controlled bodies. The posts of President, vice-president, governor and minister are not considered offices of profit. The exemption given to offices of profit under the Parliament (Prevention of disqualification) Amendment Act is only to lawmakers belonging to Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council and 45 institutes.