The Congress party on Wednesday told opposition leaders at the meeting on the presidential election that it doesn’t have a particular candidate in mind but it will play a “constructive role” in ensuring a consensus candidate and emphasised that the Opposition’s nominee “must be someone committed to upholding the Constitution of India, its values, principles and provisions in letter and spirit.”
The Congress also pitched for unity among opposition parties and appealed that opposition parties should “not score political points against each other.”
According to leaders present in the meeting, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said that Congress wants a candidate “committed to guaranteeing that all institutions of our democracy function without fear or favour, someone committed to protecting the rights of all our citizens and preserving the secular fabric of our diverse society, someone committed to speaking out boldly against the forces of prejudice, hatred, bigotry and polarization and someone committed to being a powerful force for furthering social justice and empowerment.”
Later, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who convened the Opposition meeting, said that Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Kharge and she will talk to other constituents of the Opposition to find a consensus candidate.
Kharge too expressed optimism and said, such a candidate should be found “in the next few days” and added: “Let us be proactive and not be reactive”. He underlined that the Congress will sit with opposition leaders and arrive at a candidate acceptable to all.
{{/usCountry}}Kharge too expressed optimism and said, such a candidate should be found “in the next few days” and added: “Let us be proactive and not be reactive”. He underlined that the Congress will sit with opposition leaders and arrive at a candidate acceptable to all.
{{/usCountry}}In the meeting, attended by 18 parties, Kharge said that party chief Sonia Gandhi, currently hospitalised, “had asked me to speak to leaders of various parties opposed to the divisive and destructive policies of the RSS/BJP to explore the possibility of a joint candidate. I had been in touch with a number of you. Now Mamataji has convened this meeting.”
“I am aware that many of the parties around this table compete with each other in assembly elections. But that has not prevented this meeting from taking place. Each one of us has taken a larger national view and come here for a bigger cause. Let this spirit continue,” he said.
Kharge also appealed that “we must remain united and disciplined and not score political points against each other. The unity we demonstrate now will have implications going well beyond the Presidential polls.”