Yashwant Sinha termed the BJP’s projection of Droupadi Murmu for the presidential election as “political symbolism” saying elevating an individual does not ensure the elevation of the whole community.
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has nominated Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader, for the presidential election.
“The whole community’s elevation depends on the policies followed by the government. Without commenting on it further, I would say that there are various examples in our own history where the elevation of one individual in a community has not necessarily helped to pull up that community even by an inch. This is more symbolic and nothing more,” he said.
Talking to PTI, he ruled out withdrawing from the race.
The July 18 presidential election is much more than a personal contest and is a step towards resisting the authoritarian streak of the government, Sinha said.
This election is a message to the people of India that there should be resistance to these policies,” he told PTI.
Rashtrapati Bhavan needs more than a rubber stamp occupant, he said and recalled how such presidents had behaved on some occasions in the past.
Sinha further said that if elected, he would put an immediate end to the “misuse” of government agencies as a tool to target political opponents and will ensure that justice and fairness prevail.
My victory will not only take me to Rashtrapati Bhavan, but it will put an end to this mischievous action on the part of the government, he added.
Sinha will file his nomination papers on Monday and as per the report, a host of Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sitaram Yechury, Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee, are expected to accompany him.
He will launch his campaign on June 28 and is likely to start from Chennai in Tamil Nadu. He will cover the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka in the first round before moving to the north.
Sinha has already reached out to several opposition parties and the BJP seeking their support for him.
