New Delhi:
Yashwant Sinha, the opposition presidential candidate, made a final appeal on Sunday to all political parties to vote for him in tomorrow’s election, which will pit him against NDA President Droupadi Murmu.
Yashwant Sinha reiterated in his statement that the presidential election is not about the two candidates, but a contest between two ideologies.
Sinha said he stands for protecting democracy in India, while Droupadi Murmu is “backed by those who carry out daily attacks on democracy”.
“I stand for the protection of secularism, a preamble pillar of our constitution. My rival candidate belongs to a party that has made no secret of its decision to destroy this pillar and establish majority supremacy,” the statement said.
“I am in favor of encouraging a politics of consensus and cooperation. My rival candidate is supported by a party that practices politics of conflict and confrontation,” it added.
In a clear reference to the BJP, Mr Sinha said that if Ms Murmu is elected as India’s next president, she will be under the control of those “whose aim is to transform democratic India into an imitator of the communist China”.
“One nation, one party, one supreme leader. Shouldn’t this be stopped? Yes, it should. Only you can stop it,” Mr Sinha said in the statement.
My appeal to all members of the electoral college for the presidential election tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/27JVgwC8ZN
— Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) July 17, 2022
On Saturday, he shared a video on Twitter urging all MLAs and MPs to vote according to their conscience.
“I appeal to you to cast your vote in terms of the Constitution, according to your conscience. The Constitution stipulates that the vote will be secret, but there will be no party whip, which means that you must decide who you want vote,” he said in the video.
इस साल राष्ट्रपति चुनाव दो व्यक्तियों के बीच नहीं, बल्कि दो विचारधाराओं के बीच का चुनाव है। पक्ष हमारे संविधान में निहित प्रावधानों और मूल्यों की रक्षा करना चाहता है। मैं सभी सांसदों और विधायकों से इस बार संविधान और उनकी अंतरात्मा की आवाज़ पर वोट करने की अपील करता हूं। pic.twitter.com/0Zs1F5qJic
— Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) July 16, 2022
Yashwant Sinha, a bureaucrat turned politician, had held important portfolios such as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The presidential elections are on Monday and counting is on Thursday.