Pratibha's nomination, a joke played on the nation: Jaya

Chennai, June 18 (UNI) AICC President Sonia Gandhi has played a joke on the nation by nominating Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil as the UPA candidate for the Presidential polls, AIADMK suprem J Jayalalithaa, a member of the newly-formed United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), charged today.

Talking to reporters after a two-hour-long meeting of the UNPA at her Poes Garden residence here, she described as ''unfortunate'', the candidature of Ms Patil for the highest Constitutional office in the country.

''Today the UPA, backed by the Left Parties, has put up a candidate (Ms Patil), which many people consider as a joke on the nation...Most of the people are not inclined to take it (the candidature of Ms Patil) seriously. It's a joke on the nation played by Ms Gandhi,'' she alleged.

Justifying the UNPA's decision to back President A P J Abdul Kalam for a second term, she said ''with all due respects to her, Ms Patil could not be compared to Mr Kalam's stature.

On criticisms in some quarters that the UNPA was rejecting the candidature of Ms Patil despite her being a woman and that her candidature was a first step to usher in 33 per cent quota for women in Parliament and Legislatures, she shot back ''if the UPA Government is really interested in honouring women, it should bring in the 33 per cent reservation Bill in Parliament and get it passed.'' UNI