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The day the scrutiny of the nominations for the President poll was over, the Opposition-backed candidate, Mr P.A. Sangma, complained to the returning officer that his opponent, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, was holding an office of profit.
In his complaint, Mr Sangma sought disqualification of Mr Mukherjee on the grounds that he chairs the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
The Government and the Congress have denied the charge. Mr Mukherjee’s campaign co-ordinators made it clear that he had resigned from the organisation on June 20, much before he filed his nomination papers. Mr Mukherjee will write to the returning officer, Mr V.K Agnihotri, denying all the charges levelled by Mr Sangma.
The Congress said Mr Sangma’s complaint was baseless. “Mr Mukherjee has already resigned from the post. There is no basis in the complaint,” the Congress spokesperson, Mr Rashid Alvi, said.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, also said that Mr Mukherjee had resigned “well in advance of filing the nomination”. The last date of withdrawal of candidature is July 4.
Meanwhile, the BJP held meetings of the office-bearers and Chief Ministers here on Monday. Sources indicated that the party top brass had also discussed the possible campaign strategies of Mr Sangma. The election for the post will be held on July 19.
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