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Dasmunsi raises issue of propriety over Advani’s letter to PM
Dasmunsi says instead of providing unwanted advise to the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition should do well to acquaint himself.
Criticizing BJP leader LK Advani for “passing strictures” against UPA Presidential nominee Pratibha Patil without evidence and for offering “unsolicited advise”, Congress leader Priyaranjan Dasmunsi on Saturday raised an issue of propriety over Advani’s letter to Manmohan Singh.
The letter – appealing to the UPA to withdraw the candidature of Pratibha Patil – was signed by Advani’s office secretary.
“If he has no regard for the office of the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition should at least show respect for the statutory office that he himself holds, Dasmunsi said at a press conference. He said he had never witnessed such violation of parliamentary norms in the past.
Instead of providing unwanted advise to the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition should do well to acquaint himself with the facts of the case relating to the affairs of the Pratibha Mahila Sahkari Bank before leveling wild and unwarranted allegations, he said.
Reiterating that there were no strictures or notices issued against Patil, Dasmunsi informed that the said bank had gone in appeal against the RBI decision canceling the bank license in 2003 with the then banking minister. Even as the then government had disposed off the matter the same year, no adverse mention had been made in any of the official records against her, he said.
Dasmunsi informed that 267 proposers and 265 seconders belonging to different parts of the country had participated in Patil’s nomination process.
The process indicates that every part of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari supports Patil as the first woman candidate in the 13th Presidential election, he said.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, in a statement from Seattle, condemned the BJP for making baseless allegations against Patil. He said these charges had been scrutinized by the government in the past and found false.
