E-Paper
‘India currently going through…’: Yashwant Sinha's message to Opposition parties
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha had quit the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2018 after turning a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government and joined the Trinamool Congress last year.
Opposition presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha pledged that he will raise his voice for farmers, workers, unemployed youth, women and all marginalised sections of society if he wins the election. In a letter to Opposition parties thanking them for choosing him “unanimously” as their presidential candidate, Sinha assured them that he will “conscientiously uphold, without fear or favour, the basic values and guiding ideals of the Constitution.”
"In particular, as the Custodian of the Constitution, I shall not allow the light of democracy and secularism to be dimmed by the executive. I shall not allow the independence and integrity of democratic institutions to be weaponised against political opponents, as is happening now," he wrote.
“I shall do my utmost to ensure that the majesty of Indian Parliament remains safe from attacks by the forces of authoritarianism. I shall not allow the ongoing assaults on the Federal Structure of the Constitution, whereby the government is attempting to rob the state governments of their legitimate rights and powers,” the former Union minister added.
Also Read | BJP leader files case against Ram Gopal Varma for comments on Droupadi Murmu
Sinha said he plans to begin his campaign by visiting "as many state capitals as I possibly can".
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that Sinha “fully deserves our support” and wished the presidential candidate “the very best”.
“Wishing @YashwantSinha the very best. He would bring dignity, intellect, integrity & vast experience to the highest office in the land. He fully deserves our support,” Tharoor tweeted.
Sinha, who had quit the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2018 after turning a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government, joined the Trinamool Congress last year. He was later appointed as the party's vice-president.
