Presidential polls: MNS chief Raj Thackeray says the President’s post is a ‘rubber stamp’

Mumbai city news: Raj said that the president did not impact the life of the common man in any way and the post was a rubber stamp for the party in power.

Ahead of the presidential election next month, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray courted controversy by saying that the country’s president is simply a rubber stamp post and has no use for the common person.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray. (HT FILE)

Thackeray said, “The president is a rubber stamp. The party in power gets to have this rubber stamp.”

He added that the president did not impact the life of the common man in any way. “I feel bad looking at the politics surrounding a presidential election. But keeping politics aside, how does who becomes president affect our lives?Presidents are only seen on August 15 and January 26. Who knows what they do for five years other than this?” he said.

Thackeray said people keep writing letters and emails to the president about issues that grip the country, but never get replies. “The last issue I remember where a president was involved was in the capital punishment of 1993 blasts convict Yaqub Memon. Otherwise, in your life, in my life, how does a president make a difference? Has a president ever stated his point of view on anything? There have been so many issues right from the Maratha protests to the farmers’ agitation. What did the president do?” the MNS chief said.

A few days later, the opposition picked its presidential candidate, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, also a Dalit, prompting some leaders such as Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati to return to its fold.