Advani again asks UPA to replace nominee
Congress rebuffs; last date for filing nominations today

A day ahead of the last date for nomination for presidential election, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani on Friday made yet another appeal to the UPA to replace its candidate Pratibha Patil as the list of scandals and controversies associated with her kept growing by the day.

Referring to the spate of 'highly incriminating' reports about her and her family members appearing in the media, Advani said: "Each of these is a serious revelation that tars the reputation of any person in public life. But taken together, these revelations are of such grave nature that they completely and incontestably render the person unfit to occupy the highest constitutional office in the country."

The BJP leader said he was repeating his appeal because Saturday was the last day for filing nominations.

Ignoring the NDA's strident campaign against its candidate, the UPA, however, turned down Advani's appeal and threatened the opposition that it could pay back in the same coin.

Rejecting the NDA proposal to replace Pratibha Patil with another candidate, Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi dismissed the charges against her as a "bunch of lies".

In his statement, Advani referred to the confusion and disarray in the UPA camp following the spate of allegations against its Presidential candidate.

"Privately, most leaders of the Congress and its allies have already been admitting that "a terrible mistake has been committed". The Prime Minister and his senior colleagues, and all the other responsible leaders of the UPA, should summon the courage to rise above partisan considerations and correct the mistake when there is still time to do so," he said.

The BJP veteran said he was saddened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's defence of Patil calling all the media revelations "mud-slinging" by the Opposition.

"He should know that none of these is cooked-up by the Opposition. All these ante-date her selection as the UPA's candidate and can be sourced to verifiable records of the RBI, other Government agencies and memoranda submitted by the people affected by the scandals," he added.

Pointing out that he himself had been the Governor of RBI and the Finance Minister of India in the past, the Leader of the Opposition asked the Prime Minister, whether he would have turned a blind eye to the loot of a cooperative bank by the promoter's family, none of whose members has been punished so far.

"You are now the Prime Minister of India. Would you be unconcerned by the anguished cry of the widow of a murdered Congress leader, if the person accused of being the conspirator were someone other than the brother of Pratibha Patil?

Advani said he did not expect such a reaction from a person of Dr Manmohan Singh's stature. "Everybody knows that you do not wield real power in the Government of India. But many are today disappointed that you have lent the prime ministerial voice to defend the indefensible," he said.

He claimed that if all the facts about all the scandals and controversies were placed before members of Manmohan Singh's own Council of Ministers, and if they were to give their true personal opinion, "I am sure that most of them would favour withdrawal of Smt Patil's nomination even at this late stage."

Dr Manmohan Singh, as also all the leaders of the constituent parties of the UPA, should realise that an attitude of arrogance and inflexibility at this crucial moment could prove costly for India's democracy, Advani warned.

"I appeal to you, therefore, to once again consult your ministerial colleagues and leaders of the allies of your party and nominate any other suitable person for the Presidential election," Advani's appeal to the UPA Prime Minister said.