It's not a Dalit vs Dalit contest, insists Meira Kumar

The Opposition's Presidential poll candidate, Meira Kumar, on Tuesday described the July 17 election as an "ideological battle to save democratic values". Kumar, who will file her nomination papers on Wednesday, lamented that the election to India's highest constitutional office was being seen as a Dalit versus Dalit contest.

Both Kumar and the NDA's choice, Ram Nath Kovind, are from Dalit communities. However, the 'Dalit versus Dalit' chorus began after the Opposition picked her three days after the NDA's candidate was chosen.

"Presidential polls are being seen as a Dalit versus Dalit contest. Does anyone among you think that the elections for the country's highest post should be fought on caste lines? Won't that be shameful?" she asked reporters at a press conference here.

She said she was in the fray for constitutional and democratic values, inclusiveness, social justice, and destruction of caste structures.

It's not a Dalit vs Dalit contest, insists Meira

She described attacks on Dalits as "shameful", and said the caste system should be "buried deep down" in the earth. She will start her campaign from Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat.

When asked about Union Minister Sushma Swaraj's recent tweets accusing her of being biased as the Lok Sabha Speaker during the UPA-II regime, Kumar said, "All MPs appreciated my style of functioning when I was the Lok Sabha Speaker... none alleged I was biased."

Sushma on Sunday targeted Kumar and questioned her neutrality by tweeting a video and a news report of 2013 Lok Sabha proceedings.

The video shows then Leader of Opposition Swaraj's speech being repeatedly interrupted by Kumar, who was then Lok Sabha Speaker. In another tweet, she also posted a news report — of the same Lok Sabha proceedings — headlined: "Speaker interrupted Sushma 60 times in 6-min speech."

Meanwhile, Kumar said she has not yet decided whether or not to appeal to JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar to support her nomination. Nitish broke the Opposition unity and decided to back Kovind who quit as Bihar Governor to file his nomination papers on Friday.

The Opposition choice of Meira Kumar also looked an attempt to put Nitish in a tight spot because she is from Bihar. Though Kovind served in Bihar, he is from UP's Kanpur region.

The NDA has a clear edge in the electoral college, and a string of fence-sitters has also pledged support to it. President Pranab Mukherjee's term ends on July 24.