LUCKNOW: Angry over accusations that he ditched Trinmool Congress (TMC) president and West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee over selection of candidate for presidential elections, Samjwadi Party (SP) Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday clarified that he proposed three 'additional' names in the joint press conference with Mamta on June 13 (Wednesday) last because there indication that the Congress may not nominate Pranab Mukherjee as presidential candidate.
"I floated names of former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
These three names were only 'suggestions' to be considered for consensus in case Pranab name was dropped by the Congress," Mulayam clarified while addressing party workers and leaders in SP head quarters in Lucknow. He said that the three names he had suggested were also good but Pranab was always is first choice.
On May 23, when Mulayam shared dinner table with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on UPA II's third anniversary, it was widely speculated that he has assured his support to Congress for presidential elections, though no name was finalised till then. But, on June 13, Mulayam in a joint press conference with Mamta announced three names, giving a jolt to the Congress. But within 24 hours, after meeting Sonia again, he changed stand and announced support for Pranab.
No comments:
Post a Comment