Panta: Taking a veiled dig at the NDA presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu without naming her, Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha on Friday said that the President should not be a rubber stamp of the Prime Minister.
"Democracy is in grave danger today. It is repeatedly being attacked in the country. I have never seen a defunct government like this. The President's post does not have much power, but it has dignity. The President should not be a rubber stamp of the Prime Minister. If the president becomes a rubber stamp then he or she will not be able to perform constitutional duties," said Sinha.
Speaking to media persons Sinha urged the MLAs and MPs in Bihar to think above party lines and vote for the right candidate. “I urge all the MPs and MLAs of Bihar to think above the party lines and vote for the right candidate. The present government does not believe in consensus and if this continues to be the scenario then nobody will be able to save our country,” Sinha said, adding, "If Nitish Kumar is concerned about Bihar, he should support me," Sinha said. He was in Patna to garner support for himself.
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Sinha along with leaders of five opposition parties held a closed-door meeting in Hotel Maurya for over two hours. The meeting was attended by the RJD, CPI, CPI (ML), CPM (M), and Congress leaders including TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and other left parties had already announced to extend support to Sinha. The former union minister Sinha had earlier met ailing RJD supremo Lalu Prasad whose treatment is underway at Delhi AIIMS.
Sinha also attacked the NDA government over the new booklet which has been issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat having a list of words declared as not fit for use in Parliament ahead of the monsoon session. “Look at the new rule which Lok Sabha has come out with. It has a list of unparliamentary words. This is the reason I said that democracy is in danger. You cannot use the word taanasah (dictator), brasth (corrupt), Jumlebaaz (claptrap), and many other words. Now, the Lok Sabha should come out with the list of what we should wear, how we should sit and we should have a ribbon on our mouth so that we cannot speak anything,” Sinha said.
Sinha also attacked the NDA government over the Agnipath policy and alleged that the government is playing with the future of the youths. “The people who would be recruited through the scheme will neither do service to the nation nor they would be considered an army man after four years. The youths will come out on roads to vent their anger,” Sinha asserted. Tejashwi also urged everyone to cast votes in favour of Sinha and stressed that the President should not be a statue.
