Atal and George seek support for Shekhawat as President

New Delhi, July 13 (UNI) Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Defence Minister George Fernandes today cautioned that the democratic fabric in the country faced the danger of being rent sunder by auhoritarian forces one more time and said the record of the next President of the country should be ''impeccable''.

Issuing a common appeal to MPs and MLAs, the electoral college for the presidential elections, in support of Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the two leaders said he was not an independent only for the sake of it but had amply demonstrated his independence time and again as Rajya Sabha Chairman and as Vice President discharging his responsibility impartially, objectively and with fairness and commitment to democracy for the last five years.

''The President of India is the ultimate protector of our constitution and the Supreme Commander of our forces and symbol of dignity of every Indian. His/her record must be impeccable, '' they said. The UPA has put up Mrs Pratibha Patil as their candidate and the decision has made the election 'unusual, extraordinary and extremely important for the future of democracy, they added.

The NDA, they said, after careful consideration had decided to support Mr Shekhwat as President A P J Abdul Kalam decided not to seek a second term in the light of 'unprincipled opposition' by the ruling coalition and other parties. Mr Shekhawat had resigned from the BJP in 2002 before he filed his nomination papers and will be contesting as an independent candidate.

Describing themselves as ''products of the democratic process'' of India which had demonstrated its majesty in six decades of existence, Mr Vajpayee and Mr Fernandes said they had risen in politics because of love and affection showered upon by the people of the country. ''Today, the fabric of democracy is stretched to the limit and is in the danger of being torn asunder by authoritarian forces once again.'' The people of India, they said, had perserved, protected and imbibled democratic spirit as no other developing country had done. When the authoritative forces tried to kill democracy by imposing Emergency and curbing civil liberties, the people decisively defeated those forces in 1977 and no wonder India stood out as the largest functioning democracy of the world, they said.

About Mr Shekhwat, the two leaders said like themselves he too was not from any ''political family'' and had worked for the poor and the downtrodden throughout his life. He is a distinguished public figure, a statesman and an able administrator and an extraordinary human being.

Asked if there were differences within the NDA on the campaign mode as their appeal was different from that of Mr L K Advani who has sought the 'conscience votes' of MPs and MLAs, Mr Shekhawat's spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said there were absolutely no differences.

''You should not miss the 'common thread' in both appeals -- 'elect Mr Shekhawat','' she remarked.

UNI