The BJP on Monday hit out at Yashwant Sinha, the joint Opposition candidate in the presidential polls, for daring his NDA opponent Draupadi Murmu to take a pledge that she will not be a rubber stamp to the Government and will speak out against attempts at communal polarisation of the country.
BJP national general secretary CT Ravi said harbouring a feeling that an adivasi woman is not suitable for the position depicts one's "nasty mindset". "Certainly the country doesn't need a rubber stamp Rashtrapati, but also, in the same way, the mindset of indulging in a false propaganda against a self-made adivasi woman, who has proved her capability, is dangerous.
“The state of mind that feels oneself alone to be worthy is dangerous," Ravi said. Talking to reporters, he said, "Murmu, an adivasi woman, has already proved her capabilities as the Governor of Jharkhand, as a minister and an MLA in Odisha and as a lecturer in a college. A feeling that an adivasi woman is not capable of the position itself depicts one's nasty mindset."
Sinha took a pledge to serve as an impartial custodian of the Constitution and not be a "rubber stamp" to the government, as also to uphold the country's plural nature, and said he will protect the rights of people, including the right to freedom of speech and expression. He also pledged that he will work for the repeal of the sedition law. "To ensure a better future for all Indians, the Rashtrapati must work conscientiously. I pledge that, upon being elected as President,
I'll serve as an impartial custodian of the Constitution; not a rubber stamp for the government. I urge the BJP's candidate to make the same pledge," Sinha wrote on Twitter.
Posting the pledge to the people of the country, he said, "I hereby affirm that India needs a Rashtrapati who serves as the impartial custodian of the Constitution and not a silent or a rubber-stamp Rashtrapati. Will the BJP's candidate make the same pledge?"
Alleging that the ruling dispensation has unleashed "a poisonous communal propaganda to divide India's multi-religious society", Sinha said, "I promise to all Indians that if elected as President, I shall uphold India's plural nature and the Constitution. I urge the BJP's candidate to make the same pledge." The Presidential polls are scheduled for July 18.