Left turns down UNPA plea for second term for President Kalam

New Delhi, June 18 (UNI) Left parties today categorically rejected the newly-christened United National Progressive Alliance's plea for a second term for President APJ Abdul Kalam, asserting they already have a "winning candidate" in Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil.

They also took strong objection to AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa's calling Ms Patil's candidature a 'joke on the nation' and said this needed to be highly condemned. Ms Patil is not only the Governor of Rajasthan, but a woman candidate, highly experienced in public life, constitutional expert and a non-controversial social worker, the Left parties said.

Briefing mediapersons after marathon deliberations, Ms Jayalalithaa said all parties including the Left, BJP and the DMK should come forward and support Dr Kalam's candidature in the interest of the nation.

The UNPA comprises eight regional parties including the AIADMK, Telegu Desam Party( TDP), Samajwadi Party( SP), Indian National Lok Dal among others.

CPI leaders A B Bardhan and D Raja said," Why should we go in for anyone else than Ms Patil, whom the UPA has nominated for the President's post, supported by the Left parties, the BSP and others? She is our winning candidate." The CPI leaders said the UNPA had made a desperate move which they termed as " ploy to help the BJP." On the Front leaders' emphasis on their maintaining equi-distance from both the Congress and the BJP, Mr Raja said," this is just a gimmick." CPI(M) veteran and Polit Bureau member M K Pandhe said the Left parties could not accept the Front's suggestion as the campaign had already started." Even it is doubtful that Dr Kalam will agree to the Front's plea. He has already stated that after his term expires he will go back to Chennai and resume academic work." On the specific Front motive behind such a move, Mr Pandhe said, ''They want to have a separate identity of their own on the political scene. Or there may be divisions among the Front constituents." Another senior CPI(M) leader said, on the condition of anonymity, that his party had already discussed the issue of a second term for Dr Kalam and party General Secretary Prakash Karat was the first political leader who said categorically that they did not want a second term for Dr Kalam.

"You know, we have already rejected a second term for Dr Kalam when the BJP made a case for him. How can we agree to the similar proposal even if it is made by (SP supremo) Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ms Jayalalithaa?" The CPI(M) veteran asked Ms Jayalalithaa to shun" non serious talk" and instead take a principled position and field Front's own candidate.

"Please remember that we fielded Captain Laxmi Sehgal of the INA against Dr Kalam last time even if we knew that Dr Kalam's victory was a foregone conclusion." Forward Bloc national Secretary G Devrajan remarked," The Front's plea has been made too late. We can not just look back. Besides the UPA is not a single party; it is a multi-party alliance which has unanimously finalised Ms Patil's candidature. Then there are four Left parties,the BSP and other parties." Mr Devrajan said the Third Front appeared in a dilemma as some of its constituents did not want to be seen in the company of the BJP or the NDA.

Elaborating, the Left leaders said only yesterday SP General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav after the party National Executive meet here, had stated that even if Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat conducted the business of the Rajya Sabha in a fair manner yet his roots are in the RSS. Mr Yadav also said the SP had been formed to wipe out the communal forces.

TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu has already expressed similar sentiments, they said, adding that the leaders of the Third Front feared that if they went along with Mr Shekhawat, they might lose the Muslim support base.

UNI