Opposition presidential candidate PA Sangma’s legal team comprising former BJP MP Satyapal Jain has made written submission against returning officer’s order.
Rajya Sabha secretary general Agnihotri had rejected Sangma’s objection that UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee had violated the law pertaining to office of profit when he filed his nomination. Jain and others alleged that Mukherjee was the chairman of the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata at the time.
Mukherjee’s authorised representatives in the election, P Chidambaram and Pawan Kumar Bansal had produced a copy of Mukherjee’s resignation letter of June 20. But Jain has been arguing that it was a backdated letter and that the signature of Mukherjee does not match.
Asked if they would go in appeal to the Supreme Court, Jain said they hoped the Election Commission would give a decision in their favour and they would not have to knock at the apex court’s door. But he said all legal options being kept open.
Bansal’s response to the development was that Sangma’s team was spending energy on wrong things instead of focusing on the campaign itself. He said Mukherjee was not holding any office of profit at the time the nomination papers were scrutinised.
Mukherjee’s team had already met legislature party leaders, state party presidents, general secretaries in charge of the states to mobilise all the votes. The electors are being told about the voting process through a model ballot paper, and they are being told that they should mark the paper against the name of serial number one. There are just two names on the ballot paper, that of Mukherjee and Sangma. But the Congress team is not willing to take any chance, it appears.
