Sangma's team got its facts wrong on Pranab

PA Sangma not only comprehensively lost the race for Rashtrapati Bhawan to Pranab Mukherjee, but also appeared to have scored a self-goal due to the over enthusiasm shown by his team in attacking his rival for holding several offices of profit.

PA Sangma not only comprehensively lost the race for Rashtrapati Bhawan to Pranab Mukherjee, but also appeared to have scored a self-goal due to the over enthusiasm shown by his team in attacking his rival for holding several offices of profit.

HT Image

In such case, Sangma's team has got its facts wrong. The Birbhum Institute of Engineering and Technology in West Bengal has denied that Mukherjee ever held any post at the institute.

This contradicts the claim made by Sangma's team during the aggressive campaign it mounted against Mukherjee in its unsuccessful bid for the highest office of the country.

On July 7, former BJP MP Satyapal Jain and Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy— two of Sangma's key campaign managers — had stated that Mukherjee was holding the post of vice-president of BIET, which was an office of profit. They had named two other institutes also, which according to them rendered the Congress leader ineligible to contest for the President's post.

However, an RTI reply received by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal from BIETs reveals the claim made by Sangma's managers was wrong.

In response to a question that was it true that Mukherjee was vice-president of BIET till July this year, the institute said: "It is not true… Pranab Mukherjee never applied for any post of BIET and nobody proposed and seconded his application."

The institute has further said that the question of sending the copy of Mukhejree's resignation to him does not arise since he never held any post there.

Sangma, however, is determined not to take things lying down and has challenged Mukherjee's election in the Supreme Court.