Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Politics / News/  'There's no dharma sankat'…Yashwant Sinha says on his son and BJP MP Jayant
BackBack

'There's no dharma sankat'…Yashwant Sinha says on his son and BJP MP Jayant

Opposition's joint candidate Yashwant Sinha described the upcoming presidential polls as ‘much more than a personal fight' and ruled out withdrawing from the race 

Sinha will file his nomination papers on Monday.Premium
Sinha will file his nomination papers on Monday.

Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, the joint opposition's consensus candidate in presidential elections, on Sunday said there was no ‘dharma sankat’ in not getting the support from his son Jayant Sinha, a parliamentarian from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Sinha will file his nomination papers on Monday. A host of Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sitaram Yechury, Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee, are expected to accompany him.

"I am not in any 'dharma sankat' over not getting the support of my son and BJP MP Jayant Sinha. "...He follows his ‘Raj Dharma’ and I will follow my ‘Rashtra Dharma’," Sinha, himself a former member of the BJP, told news agency PTI.

The 84-year-old ex-diplomat further described the July 18 election as "much more than a personal contest….He ruled out withdrawing from the race."

Sinha said, “It is much more than a personal fight. Also, it is more than merely the election of President of India. It is a step towards resisting the authoritarian policies of the government. It is a message to the people of India that there should be resistance to these policies."

On the BJP-led NDA nominating Droupadi Murmu,  for the presidential polls, Sinha said elevating an individual does not ensure the elevation of the whole community and Murmu was nothing more than political symbolism.

"From my long experience of public life, (I can say) the elevation of one individual does not elevate the whole community. The whole community's elevation depends on the policies followed by the government. Without commenting on it further, I would say that there are various examples in our own history where elevation of one individual in a community has not necessarily helped to pull up that community even by an inch. This is more symbolic and nothing more," Sinha said.

Sinha said the contest is much bigger than merely his personal fight and unless the people wake up and the whole system is reformed, "we will not be able to see light at the end of the tunnel".

Noting that the Rashtrapati Bhavan needs more than a "rubber stamp" occupant, he recalled how such presidents had behaved on some occasions in the past.

Meanwhile, Jayant Sinha, in a video message on June 21, hours after the announcement of his father's candidature, urged people to 'not look at me as a son.' 

A former Union minister himself, Jayant Sinha said, “…please don't make this a family matter. I'm a karyakarta of the BJP and MP from Hazaribagh. I am fully aware of my constitutional duties, and will fulfill them."

Sinha, who was part of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA cabinet, said, if elected, he would put an immediate end to the "misuse" of government agencies as a tool to target political opponents and will ensure that justice and fairness prevail.

If elected, Murmu will be the first tribal, and the second woman, after Pratibha Patil, to be the President of India. A former governor of Jharkhand, and the ninth person and first female to hold that post, she filed her nomination on Friday; she was accompanied by several Union ministers, including prime minister Narendra Modi, and CMs of BJP-ruled states.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Politics News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More Less
Published: 26 Jun 2022, 08:28 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App