President’s post above politics : Kovind

Itanagar: NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind today said that the president’s post is above politics and his effort will be to take every state in the country towards prosperity. “A president never belongs to any party. All people irrespective of caste, creed and religion, state are equal. Vote bank is not important for me but development matters,” Koving said addressing BJP legislators here. Kovind, accompanied by union ministers Raj Narendra Singh Tomar and Kiren Rijiju, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, Lok Sabha MP Ram Vichar Nittam and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor Himata Biswa Sharma, arrived here in the morning for a day-long visit to garner support of the MLAs of Arunachal Pradesh. He said his dream is of a developed India and equitable development for all sections of the people and regions. Equality among states and people should be the mantra so that the country develops. Appreciating the people of the state for their skill in speaking Hindi, Kovind said “I feel like I am with the people from my home state Uttar Pradesh. “Arunachal Pradesh with its rich cultural heritage may be a small state, but for me it is equally important like UP and other states of the country,” he said adding the isolation syndrome of the people of the North East has been removed after NDA came to power at the Centre. Kovind also convened a separate meeting with the nine legislators of People Party of Arunachal (PPA), a constituent partner of NEDA, where the MLAs extended their support to him. Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that though the vote value for Arunachal is eight against one vote in comparison to UP where it is 208 against one, all the 47 BJP legislators including two independents and nine PPA MLAs would vote for Kovind ensuring his victory. Khandu lauded Kovind for beginning his north east visit from the state and urged him to give more focus on NE especially Arunachal Pradesh keeping in mind the state’s strategic location. Earlier, Tomar said that many political parties who are not with NDA are supporting Kovind, while Rijiju said that it was for the first time that a presidential candidate visited Arunachal Pradesh as earlier all the decisions were taken only in Guwahati. Madhav urged the legislators to ensure their presence in the state capital on the voting day. (PTI)