New Delhi: Even as Purno Sangma is preparing to file an election petition against Pranab Mukherjee‘s nomination in the presidential poll, the BJP on Wednesday dissociated itself from the move.
“Any decision by Mr Sangma to approach the Supreme Court will be his personal initiative,” said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Sangma, who lost the presidential election to Mukherjee, was backed by BJP and several other opposition parties. Reuters
“BJP has respectfully welcomed Mukherjee as the president of India and the party and the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) will not be associated with any such step,” Rudy said.
Sangma, who lost the presidential election to Mukherjee, was backed by BJP and several other opposition parties.
Rudy, in a routine party press briefing, said the BJP association with Sangma’s activities ended with the dissolution of the election campaign committee formed for the presidential polls.
BJP’s legal cell head Satya Pal Jain, however, still remains Sangma’s lawyer.
Rudy said if he fought Sangma’s case, it will be “in his personal capacity as a lawyer”.
Jain had Tuesday said the “final decision” on the election petition would be taken by the end of this week.
The statement was made after Sangma and Jain met senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, Ananth Kumar and SS Ahluwalia.
Sources close to Sangma say he is likely to approach the apex court by the end of next week.
Before the election, Team Sangma, as the group backing Purno Sangma came to be known, had raised objection on Mukherjee’s nomination stating that he held an office of profit as chairman of Indian Statistical Institute at the time of the nomination.
They also alleged that a copy of resignation letter submitted by Mukherjee carried a forged signature.
An objection was raised at the time of scrutiny of nomination forms, but was rejected by returning officer. BJP and allies had at that time backed the move.
It had also backed the team’s decision to move to the election commission to ask for rejecting Mukherjee’s nomination.
The election commission had then directed them to approach Supreme Court with an election petition, which could be filed only after the results were declared.
However, the BJP has now done a U-turn.
IANS
