Nothing left to say about objections to nomination: Pranab

Bhopal, Jul 11: A day after the Election Commission rejected the petition filed by the

camp objecting to the nomination of

, the UPA Presidential candidate today said it was now a closed chapter.

"Since all the disputes about my nomination have been resolved by the returning officer, there was nothing left for me to say about them," Mukherjee said during an interaction with the media here.

Citing Constitutional and legal provisions, the Election Commission yesterday rejected the petition of opposition- backed PA Sangma camp saying it was not maintainable before it.

On the many charges levelled against him, Mukherjee said, "I do not indulge in mud-slinging." Mukherjee arrived here today as a part of his campaign tour.

He first drove to a hotel where he met Congress MLAs and MPs from Madhya Pradesh. All seven MLAs from BSP and the lone Samajwadi Party MLA from the state also met him.

Later he said that he was thankful to the various political parties, including the Shiv Sena, JD (U) and CPI(M), which have extended support to him.

It was the duty of the President to defend, protect and preserve the Constitution, he said. Asked if he was worried about the call for "conscience vote" by Sangma, Mukherjee said that "everyone always votes as per the conscience".

Sangma, who visited the state for canvassing votes earlier, had said that he was hopeful of a repeat of conscience vote for him on the lines of the 1969 Presidential election.

PTI