Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today said that his party will not barter the implementation of the Sachar Committee report as a pre-condition to support the UPA candidate for president.
“Both Sachar Committee report and presidential polls are separate issues,” Yadav said at a press conference in New Delhi.
Keeping cards open. PTI
The Sachar Committee said that the condition of Muslims in India are worse than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and gave a slew of recommendations for to uplift them. The Centre has so far not implemented the suggestions made in the report.
The SP head, however, said that his party will decide on the presidential candidate only after a name is formally announced.
“When a name is formally declared for the presidential election our Central Parliamentary Board will meet to decide on the candidate after going through the credentials,” Yadav said while replying if his party will support the UPA candidate.
“I have no idea whom the Congress party will make their candidate,” the SP chief said in response to a query if the party will support Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee‘s candidature.
However, Yadav made his choice clear on the nature of the candidate.
“We would like to have political candidate. We will not support any bureaucrat for president,” he said.
The SP head said that no one is in touch with the party nor his party has spoken to anyone on the issue.
“No one is in touch with us and we have not spoken to anyone about it,” he said.
On the candidature of former Lok Sabha speaker and NCP member PA Sangma and the appeal of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa’s appeal to political parties to support the Meghalaya leader, Yadav said, “Our party has not decided anything on the issue.”
