in Bhopal on Sunday. (PTI)
Bhopal: Expressing confidence of winning the Presidential election despite the numbers not being in his favour, Opposition BJP-backed candidate Purno Agitok Sangma reiterated that he believed in ‘miracles’.
“United Progressive Alliance Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee has stated that he does not believe in miracles but in numbers. However, I do believe in miracles,” Sangma said while talking to reporters here.
He was here to seek support of BJP MLAs and MPs from the state for his election to the post of President.
Observing that Presidential election was different due to the inapplicability of party whip for voting and was based on ‘conscience vote’, Sangma said it had been proved during the Presidential election in 1969.
Speaking about his earlier comments the country’s President should not be blind, deaf and dumb, he said he made the statement in the wake of Mukherjee rejecting the need for a debate contending that the President had no role in policy formulation.
“The President should not be a silent spectator. We want a thinking and functioning President,” Sangma said.
Replying to a query whether he will be the country’s President or the President of tribal masses, he said tribal candidate should be promoted if qualified although once someone was elected to the top post he belonged to the whole nation.
On whether he will lodge a criminal case against Mukherjee for filing nomination despite allegedly holding office of profit and tendering so-called fake resignation later, Sangma said a legal team, including advocate Ram Jethmalani, is examining the matter.
He said the Congress’ decision for suspending tribal leader Arvind Netam from the party reflected its ‘anti-tribal’ attitude which he had criticised earlier.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj had alleged that Mukherjee had employed fraudulent means to resign from the Indian Statistical Institute by forging signature. (UNI)