Controversial nominee for President: Dhumal

Mandi, June 30 (UNI) Former Chief Minister and BJP MP Prem Kumar Dhumal today lashed out at UPA-Left alliance choice of Ms Pratibha Patil as Presidential candidate claiming that ''it was for the first time in the history of independent India that a controversial nominee had been put up by the ruling party for nation's highest office.

Addressing a news conference here, Mr Dhumal said eyebrows were being raised over the choice of Mrs Pratibha Patil for the exalted post in the wake of serious charges pouring in even from her parent state of Maharashtra, in print media and T.V. channels.

Such charges, some of them of serious nature, against Ms Patil or those close to her, were making a mockery of the UPA choice within and outside the country, the BJP leader said.

Mr Dhumal charged Congress with spreading the culture of corruption and said the people of the country were fast getting disillusioned with this party.

The former chief minister also demanded inquiry into the infamous CD issue either by a sitting Chief Justice of Supreme Court or the CBI.

He said that the disclosure of CD by senior Congress leader Vijay Singh Mankotia had revealed startling facts of corruption and added that the ''silence and inaction'' of the Congress High Command on this serious issue spoke volumes about the erosion of ethical values.

He said it was ''most astonishing'' that the man who dared to expose corruption was suspended from the party while no inquiry had been initiated against the person accused of serious charges.

Mr Dhumal said there was resentment among the employees and unemployed youths as jobs were being given on the basis on nepotism by blatantly flouting merit and seniority.

Expressing sympathy with the agitating taxi operators, he said the arrogant attitude of the transport minister had badly hit the self-employed taxi operators who were under debt of bank loans.

He also expressed concern over the increasing cement prices and the inability of the government in containing them.

Mr Dhumal also criticised the authorities for discriminating between the state-level and district-level media persons with regard to the concession for staying in the state Rest Houses and Himachal Bhavans and asserted that if his party came to power, it would restore the privileges denied to the district-level reporters by Congress government.

UNI