'Not the time for whataboutery but...': Margaret Alva to Trinamool on VP polls

The Mamata Banerjee-led party has decided it will not vote in the vice-presidential election as its inputs were not sought over the opposition's candidate for the August 6 polls.

Published on: Jul 22, 2022, 16:22:40 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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A day after Trinamool Congress (TMC) announced it will abstain from voting in the vice-presidential election, scheduled for August 6, the joint opposition's candidate, Margaret Alva, in a message to Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, said on Friday that this is not the time for ‘whataboutery’ or ‘ego’, but for ‘courage’ and 'unity'.

New Delhi, July 19 (ANI): Opposition's Vice-Presidential candidate Margaret Alva files her nomination papers at Parliament, in the presence of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and other Opposition leaders.

Also Read | TMC to abstain from voting in vice-presidential election on August 6

“The TMC's decision to abstain from voting in the VP election is disappointing. This isn't the time for ‘whataboutery’, ego or anger. This is the time for courage, leadership & unity. I believe, @MamataOfficial , who is the epitome of courage, will stand with the opposition,” Alva wrote on Twitter.

On Thursday, TMC MP and party general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, who is West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew, made the startling announcement.

“The TMC will abstain in the upcoming vice-presidential election. The way the Opposition candidate was decided without proper consultation and deliberation with a party which has 35 MPs in both houses, we have decided unanimously to abstain from the voting process,” Banerjee said in a press briefing.

Also Read | ‘Not consulted’: TMC to abstain from V-P election

The decision to abstain was taken during a meeting between Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool MPs after the party's annual July 21 political rally on Martyrs' Day.

Incidentally, the announcement was made on a day India got its fifteenth President, ex-Jharkhand governor and NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu, who will be the first tribal woman and second female to make it to the country's highest office. The joint opposition's candidate, former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, had resigned as a national vice-president of the TMC to contest the election.

Mamata Banerjee had taken the lead in convening opposition parties' meeting to finalise their candidate.

Meanwhile, the vice-presidential election will pit Margaret Alva against NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar, who, during his stint as West Bengal governor, had several run-ins with the chief minister and the ruling party. Dhankhar resigned after his candidature was announced.

India will get its fourteenth VP on August 6 itself. Like Murmu, Dhankhar is in pole position to win the election.

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