New Delhi: Set to enter the Rashtrapati Bhawan as President after a bitter election, Pranab Mukherjee carries no ill feelings against the rival camp which levelled various charges against him during the poll campaign.
Mukherjee on Monday said the unsubstantiated allegations should have been avoided but he does not have any ‘hurt feelings’ towards anybody as he believes in the ‘forgive and forget’ policy.
Talking to TV channels, he said that in the political system, polarisation takes place sometimes but it should not lead to hatred.
“I feel it should have been avoided because none of these are substantially correct but I would not like to enter any controversy at this stage. I have kept them behind. I have no hard feeling for anybody,” said the 76-year-old veteran Congress leader.
“I would take this opportunity to convey and make it quite clear that I don’t have any hurt feelings towards anybody,” Mukherjee said, adding “I am going to be everybody’s President.”
During the campaign for the July 19 poll, the camp of rival candidate PA Sangma, who was supported by BJP and some other Opposition parties, levelled allegations of forgery of signatures and violation of the Office of Profit rules.
The Election Commission rejected these objections.
Asked whether he thought the campaign had ended on a bitter note, Mukherjee disagreed.
“I would not like to make any comment on what a contesting candidate said. After all, it is an address for the electorate and the electorate have responded. What is the need for me commenting?”
When his attention was drawn to ally Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s initial refusal to back him, the former Finance Minister maintained that she never said that she will not support him.
Noting that every political leader is entitled to his or her opinion, Mukherjee said, “I have no hard feelings towards anybody.”
He said he had spoken to Mamata after his victory and requested her to be present during the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday.
He hoped that she would attend.
Asked what would be his approach towards the mercy petitions, including that of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, he refused to comment, saying it will be under the President’s consideration based on advice from the Council of Ministers.
“Nobody will hear from me. Decisions may be known to the individual,” he said.
He said that he would preserve and protect the Constitution by being its custodian.
On the recent controversy over President Pratibha Patil’s foreign tours and whether there should be any cap on the visits of the First Citizen, he said: “Always I believe wasteful expenditure should not be there. There are somethings which he can do, but it is also subject to scrutiny. I don’t want anyone to be overspending out of the belt.”
To another question, he said he was not the first active politician to hold the post of the President. He also noted that there were a number of ‘hard-core politicians’ like Shankar Dayal Sharma who had become Presidents. (PTI)