New Delhi, 23 June
Opposition presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha on Thursday said that as a former Union minister he has done “much more” for scheduled tribes and other disadvantaged communities than his NDA rival Draupadi Murmu and held various positions, including Jharkhand’s governor. But for his welfare his record has been questioned.
Amid questions in some circles over the opposition’s backing despite being associated with the BJP for a long time before quitting the BJP in 2018, Sinha said he had to rely on his record as a member of the party led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “Proud.
He said the current BJP is “unrecognizable” from Vajpayee’s BJP, alleging that democratic values are under threat in the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking to PTI, Sinha (84) said that this time’s presidential election is not a battle of identity but of ideology.
“It is not a question of identity; Who is Murmu or Sinha? It is a question of which ideology she represents in our politics and which ideology do I represent.
With leaders of various ruling coalitions praising Murmu’s humble background and his candidature with a focus on tribal identity, Sinha said, “He hails from the tribal community. But what has he done? She was the governor of Jharkhand. What steps did he take to improve the condition of the tribals? Being born in a certain community doesn’t automatically make you a champion of that community.” He further added, “Look at the budget I presented for five regular years when I was the finance minister. In each budget Special provisions have been made for weaker sections including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women. The government I was working in was the policy of that government. I can claim today that I have done more for the deprived communities and tribals than they have ever been. Have done more, except that I was not born in the tribal community. He alleged that the BJP is dependent on identity politics while the opposition is giving an ideological message.
Although the numbers in the electoral college for the presidential election appear to be strongly tilted in Murmu’s favour, the bureaucrat-turned-politician said he entered the contest with full confidence of victory and will continue to do so.
“I know that there are indications from various quarters that the parties which are in the middle will be inclined towards the BJP more than ours. These are early days. Things will change going forward,” he claimed, adding that he would talk to members of every party for support after filing nominations on June 27.
He said he would travel across the country.
“When we started campaigning, the BJP did not have a majority. The competition is open. I am in the competition and will make sure we put up a good fight.
Sinha said that the basic function of the President is to be able to protect and preserve the Constitution, and whenever he sees that the Executive is crossing the border, it becomes his duty to discipline the Executive.
He said that if you have someone who doesn’t dare to speak in Rashtrapati Bhavan, then the executive will not be in control.
Asked about his nearly two-and-a-half-decade association with the BJP, he said today there are many political parties which supported the Vajpayee-led government.
He claimed that the BJP which was at that time is not there today.
It may be noted that parties like the Trinamool Congress and the DMK, now two anti-BJP parties, were part of the Vajpayee government at different times.
Referring to the Iraq War and the policies of the then government on Pakistan, Sinha said Vajpayee was a great parliamentarian, democrat and consensus builder and he consulted the people of his coalition and the opposition members on important issues.
“This (Modi) government does not believe in consensus. This is the fundamental difference between that BJP and this BJP. This BJP is unrecognizable,” he alleged.
Attacking the present government, Sinha said institutions including the courts of democracy have been devalued.