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Pranab Mukherjee in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. (PTI)
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New Delhi, July 4: Congress leaders have expressed shock at what they said was the BJP’s desperation in trying to bring its presidential candidate into reckoning through extraneous means after realising that P.A. Sangma didn’t stand a chance against Pranab Mukherjee.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari and Mukherjee’s election agent, Pawan Bansal, today asserted the office-of-profit controversy was closed after the returning officer’s verdict. They said BJP’s “drama” was because of its realisation that Sangma’s challenge was meaningless.
Congress leaders also trashed the forgery charge against Mukherjee saying he always had two signatures. A source close to Mukherjee said: “He signed differently as finance minister and GoM head. This could be found out easily. The signature he gave on the resignation letter (sent to the Indian Statistical Institute of which he was the chairman) is not new and he often uses that for non-official purposes.”
Congress leaders argued that the BJP should debate the merits of the two candidates instead of resorting to “dirty tricks”.
Mukherjee himself countered the forgery charge while campaigning in Thiruvanathapuram today. Responding to questions, he said: “Who had forged my signature? I myself? Who can forge his own signature? The returning officer has responded to that.”
“If there is an allegation, then somebody else forges the signature of another person. Then that person should lodge a complaint. We cannot complain that a man has forged his own signature,” Mukherjee added.
In Delhi, home minister P. Chidambaram described as “scandalous” the BJP’s contention that Mukherjee’s resignation letter to the institute was forged.
“It is a scandalous suggestion and I am sure Mr Pranab Mukherjee, the candidate, has taken note of this scandalous statement,” Chidambaram, who had represented Mukherjee before the returning officer, said.
Chidambaram, along with cabinet colleague Kapil Sibal and DMK leader T.R. Baalu, will be in Calcutta tomorrow on official trips and could discuss the presidential elections with Mamata Banerjee. While Baalu and Sibal have appointments, Chidamabaram could also meet her, sources said.
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