Presidential Prophecy on Prathiba Patil-Part II

Mrs.Prathiba Patil, nominated for the post of President by the ‘UPA-Left’ combine, had earned the dubious distinction of being the “Unprecedented Presidential Nominee”. A series of allegations from criminal abetting to financial irregularities not withstanding, she is now facing a Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma in the Honorable Supreme Court seeking cancellation of her nomination on the grounds of alleged financial irregularities. Also one Mr.Sanjay Tiwari Ujjala on behalf of his NGO, Indraprastha People, filed a petition in the Delhi High court seeking the cancellation of her nomination on the grounds that she is holding an ‘Office of Profit’, as she is still holding the post of Managing Trustee of the Shram Sadhna Bombay Trust at Government Colony, Bandra East, Mumbai.

 Before the filing of these two petitions, Prathiba Patil during her election campaign in Chennai attended & witnessed a massive women rally organized by the DMK / DPA. While speaking at the function, she had claimed that all the allegations thrown on her were are malicious & baseless and denied everything. As the allegations are made with incriminating evidences, mere verbal denial will not cut much ice and an authentic proof is needed to ascertain that the allegations are baseless. Being a nominee for the constitutionally highest post of the Country, she owns a moral responsibility to the people of this country to come out clean and assure the people of her innocence & clean image. As she is going to be the first citizen of this country, she must bear in mind that she will be looked upon as a role model by the younger generation and hence it becomes imperative for her to clear herself from all the allegations. Just because the ‘numbers’ are by her side, it doesn’t mean that she should treat the allegations with utmost contempt. Even though she was emboldened by the support of the UPA-Left combine, she must have undergone a trauma in the last few days and now, she has got an opportunity in the form of the two cases filed at SC & HC through which, she can either prove her innocence or she can withdraw her nomination. But, while going through the various allegations leveled on her, it is most unlikely that she could come out clean. So, one hopes that better sense prevails on her to withdraw from the race for presidency irrespective what the Courts decide on the two petitions.

In the meantime, the NDA had approached the Election commission seeking directives for disclosure of assets & antecedents by the candidates. An NDA delegation had met the Election Commissioner Navin Chawla with Opposition Leader L.K.Adwani’s letter addressed to Chief election Commissioner, where in he had categorically sought the direction from Election Commission to the respective candidates for the disclosures of antecedents, debts and assets. He had reminded the EC that the election for the posts of President & Vice President fall under the purview of The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Act of 1952, which required the Election Commission to appoint a Returning Officer through whom it shall conduct the elections. He had also said in the letter that, such a direction by the EC would ensure a transparency and would make the exercise of voting more effective.

On the other hand, the attitude of the UPA-Left combine is amazingly shocking! The Congress president, who announced the nomination of Prathiba Patil as ‘historic’ has gone deaf & dumb once the media started coming out with a series of charges on her. Sonia had left her party men to ‘defend’ the ‘indefensible’ and her party men are doing it with a sort of arrogance showing scant regard to the people’s aspiration & feelings. They have gone down to such an abysmal level in defending Prathiba that, they came out with a 1976 FIR naming Vice President Shekawat on a foisted case, which was dismissed by the Court of Law. The whole country knows that during ‘Emergency’, the Congress Party foisted many cases on its opponents and the referred case against Shekawat is also one among them. This sort of a cheap strategy doesn’t augur well for the Congress party and it may even invite the dissatisfaction & ire of its allies. Also, what is the guarantee that all the UPA allies would vote for Prathiba, particularly after so much of skeletons have fallen from her cupboard?

While comparing the stature, image & qualification between the two nominees, Vice President Shekawat stands tall as a mountain, whereas, Prathiba vanishes in the thin air as a molecule. The people would have certainly come to a conclusion that, with such dubious antecedents and legally accused members in her family, she could never act in an apolitical & impartial manner upholding the moral stature of the highest Constitutional post. The UPA-Left combine is bent upon thrusting a worthless candidate on the people, which is an ‘insult’ to the people of India. It is an insult to the intelligence of the literates; it is an insult to the ignorance of the illiterates; it is an insult to the innocence of the poor & downtrodden. The UPA-Left combine has caused an injury to the people by not accepting for a ‘consensus’ on People’s President Dr.Kalam’s second term and it has added insult to that injury by nominating a person with dubious antecedents.

So, for God’s sake, for Heaven’s sake, for the Country’s sake, for Prathiba’s sake and for it’s own sake, the ‘UPA-Left’ combine must withdraw her candidature and nominate a better person, if not ready for a consensus either on Kalam or Shekawat.

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