NDA not to personalise campaign against Pratibha Patil

New Delhi, June 22 (UNI) Taking note of several personal allegations against UPA's Presidential nominee Pratibha Patil, the NDA today said it would steer clear of controversies concerning her personal affairs till the end of the process of Presidential elections.

Making a categorical statement, NDA Spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said the NDA's fight against Mrs Patil was a ''political and ideological one'' and it would want to retain it in that manner till July 19, the date of polling.

She also refused to make any comments on questions concerning the finances of Ms Patil where she has been declared 'defaulter' by a cooperative bank 17 years ago.

Regarding the allegations levelled by Mrs Rajni Patil of Jalgoan at the residence of Akali Dal leader S S Dhindsa, Mrs Swaraj said she had come to know that somebody had ''misused his residence during his absence''. "We are trying to ascertain how this happened", she remarked.

Answering questions about the presence of two NDA Rajya Sabha MPs Chandan Mitra and Tarlochan Singh, Mrs Swaraj noted both of them were not NDA members but nominated MPs. As far as the presence of Mr Sudheendra Kulkarni, the media advisor of Leader of Opposition L K Advani, she said she had heard that Mr Kulkarni had stated that he had no involvement -- 'direct or indirect'.

UNI