Guwahati, July 13: Opposition’s Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday urged MPs and MLAs, regardless of party affiliations, to listen to their conscience while voting in the Presidential election scheduled on July 18.
Sinha, who was in Guwahati to seek support for his candidature, said the Presidential poll this time was being held under “extraordinary circumstances” and that the first and foremost question amidst the critical situation today “is whether we can protect the Constitution”.
“So the poll has become even more significant. Given the critical situation and danger posed to the Constitution, it has become imperative for the MPs and MLAs to use their conscience while voting…I am invoking that spirit,” he said while addressing a programme at the Sankardev Kalakshetra here on Wednesday afternoon.
“There is no whip in the Presidential election, which takes place on the basis of a secret ballot. The great makers of the Constitution devised the method of the secret ballot to underscore the fact that members of the Electoral College should have the freedom to heed the call of their conscience and should not blindly follow the decision of their respective parties,” Sinha appealed.
Reiterating that the election for the 15th President of India is taking place in “highly troubled conditions”, the former Union finance minister said, “Never before did our Republic face as many simultaneous threats to the Constitution. The economy is badly mismanaged. The Indian rupee has suffered the steepest fall against the US dollar during the tenure of the current Prime Minister — from Rs 58.44 in 2014 to Rs 79.63 as of yesterday.”
“The unprecedented price rise has badly hit the common people. Record unemployment, especially in the Northeast, has created a bleak future for our youth,” he added.
“Our democracy is in grave danger. Every institution of democratic governance is being subverted by the ruling party and its government. Agencies such as the ED, CBI, Income Tax department and even the Governor’s office are being weaponised to target Opposition leaders, to engineer defections in Opposition parties and to topple Opposition-run state governments,” Sinha claimed.
Taking a dig at the NDA-nominated candidate, Draupadi Murmu, he said, “I have great personal regard for her. However, I am dismayed by the fact that she has not addressed a single media conference so far. The people of India do not know what she stands for. Perhaps she wants to follow the example of the Prime Minister, who has not addressed a single press conference in the last eight years.”
He further said the election was not about persons and their identities, “It is about ideologies. It is about their commitments to the Constitution. Therefore, I humbly appeal to all members of the Electoral College to consider whether India should have a silent, ‘rubber stamp’ President.”
“I have pledged that I shall be answerable to the Constitution and to the Constitution alone. I shall serve as the impartial custodian of the Constitution. I shall use my powers, without fear or favour, to restrain the government if it deviates from the principles of the Constitution,” he said.
“But is my rival candidate willing to make the same pledge,” he asked.
As the common candidate of the combined Opposition, Sinha has so far visited Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Haryana-Punjab.
“I thank the leaders of the Congress, AIUDF, TMC, Left parties and others for their support to my candidature in the election. I regret that, due to paucity of time, I am unable to visit other states in the Northeast,” Sinha said.
Meanwhile, leaders of Opposition parties such as Congress, Assam Trinamool Congress, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and Raijor Dal lent their support to the combined Opposition candidate.