Secularism most fundamental creed of Constitution:Pratibha

Kolkata, July 13 (UNI) Binding in a camaraderie the Congress and Left, UPA's Presidential candidate Pratibha Patil today visited the West Bengal Assembly in a whistle-stop campaign for the July 19 election with secularism as the key word.

''Secularism is the most fundamental creed of our Constitution.

It guarantees equal respect for all faiths and ensures social harmony. It underlines uniqueness of our unity in diversity,'' the veteran Congress politician said while addressing an assembly of Congress and Left Front legislators.

Ms Patil, who flew in here from Patna, was accompanied by Union Ministers Santosh Mohan Dev and Prithviraj Chauhan besides AICC General Secretaries Margaret Alva and Jayanti Natarajan.

The meeting was also attended by the lone Gorkha National Liberation Front(GNLF) member. The Trinamool Congress and SUCI members did not participate.

In the 294-seat state Assembly the Left Front has 235 members, followed by 30 of the Trinamool Congress, 21 of the Congress, two Congress-backed independents, three of the GNLF, two of the SUCI and one of the Jharkhand(Naren) Party, an ally of the Congress.

Dissident Trinamool Congress member Sadhan Pande, who has been suspended by the party, has already declared his support to Ms.Patil.

Expressing confidence that all the legislators of the UPA and its supporting parties would vote for Ms Patil, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said the Left parties had always wanted a political person with ''secular credential'' to be a candidate for the country's highest office and Ms Patil was the right candidate.

''We cannot afford to vote someone belonging to the RSS,'' he said.

Pointing out that 60 years after independence ''India will have a woman President'', Ms Patil observed that the 2007 Presidential election would be a significant moment in the history of the country's democracy.

''I would place on record my gratitude to UPA Chairperson. Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the leaders of the UPA, the Left parties and other supporting parties,'' she said.

It was in a deviation from the continuing rows between the Congress-led UPA and the supporting Left parties over economic and external issues, that their common candidate talked about an ''all inclusive'' economic growth taking care of the disadvantaged, the Dalits, tribals, minorities and the backward.

''In my 45-year-long public life, I had to face many challenges, but I have continued to work for rural development, for spreading education and for women empowerment,'' she emphasised.

''In spite of all the attempts to tarnish my image with baseless charges, I remain steadfast in my commitment to my fellow citizens and my country...'' she said.

Earlier, observing that Bengal had always stood for secularism, Congress Legislature Party leader Manas Bhunia appealed to all the legislators to ensure that no single vote was cast against Ms Patil.

Coinciding with her visit, the Trinamool Congress members boycotted the day's proceedings demanding resignation of the chief minister over the Nandigram incident and staged a demonstration in the lobby, shouting slogans and holding up posters decrying the government.

Immediately after reaching the Assembly, Ms Patil called on Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim and the chief minister before holding the meeting.

She left the city for Guwahati later in the day.

UNI