My fight is to take forward Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology: Kumar

Ahmedabad, Jun 30 (PTI) Opposition candidate Meira Kumar today launched her campaign for the presidential poll from the Sabarmati ashram here and said her fight is to take forward Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology. Kumar expressed reservations over her contest with NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind being dubbed as a “Dalit vs Dalit” fight and appealed to party MPs and MLAs to vote according to their conscience. Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also visited Sabarmati ashram yesterday to mark its centenary. It was established by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917 and from here he led the Indian independence movement. Kumar spent around 40 minutes in the ashram along with state Congress leaders Bharatsinh Solanki and Shankarsinh Vaghela. The presidential election will be held on July 17. “The battle, which I am fighting at present is for the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi. We have to take forward the ideology of Gandhi,” Kumar said. “I have come to gain some power from this place. I spent some time at the ‘Hriday Kunj’, Gandhiji’s home in the ashram. I have gained lot of energy today to take forward this battle,” the 72-year-old former Lok Sabha Speaker said, adding that coming to the ashram gave her peace. Kumar also tried her hand on the ‘charkha’ (spinning wheel) in the ashram. She was chosen as the opposition’s nominee for the presidential election after NDA declared Kovind, a Dalit leader from Uttar Pradesh, as their candidate. Kumar is the daughter of late Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram. Replying to a query on what she thinks when this presidential race is being termed as Dalit vs Dalit fight, Kumar said, “This is not a good way to describe this fight”. “When people from other castes fight presidential election, their caste is not discussed. But when Shri Kovindji and I are fighting this poll, instead of discussing our merits, people are discussing caste,” she told reporters later. She appealed to the MLAs and the MPs to vote as per their conscience. “This is a battle of two ideologies. Their ideology is divisive, while ours is inclusive. I appeal to all to vote as per their conscience,” she said. Kumar held a meeting with Congress MLAs of the state, where she sought votes. Two days back ago, she had appealed to MPs and MLAs, who constitute the electoral college, to vote in the presidential election as per their conscience, even as the numbers seem to be stacked against her. Kumar, who later in the day reached Mumbai as part of her campaign, said she was fighting the election with “great confidence”. PTI