Everyone should vote by conscience in Prez polls: Sangma

NDA backed Presidential candidate P A Sangma on Wednesday said Presidential elections were not held on party lines and everybody has a right to vote according to their conscience.

"Today I have come to appeal to all MPs and MLAs. Presidential elections are not held on the basis of political parties, it is above political party," Sangma said.

He said in Presidential elections a candidate is not of a political party.

"Pranab Mukherjee is not a Congress candidate. He has resigned from the party and is contesting as an independent. I am also an independent candidate," he said.

As per the Constitution, Presidential elections are held through secret ballot and whip is not issued by any political party, Sangma said.

"If a whip is issued by any party it is not valid," he added.

"Everybody has a right to vote according to his conscience. In 1969, conscience voting took place in which V V Giri won. I appeal to everyone again," he said.

He said a meeting of his legal team would be held in the evening at his residence which would be attended by Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy.

The Election Commission yesterday rejected the petition Sangma's camp against UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee's nomination saying the same was not maintainable before it.

The Sangma camp had petitioned the EC against the decision of the Presidential poll Returning Officer of accepting the nomination papers of UPA candidate Mukherjee, despite their objections to the same on the ground that he allegedly occupied an office of profit.

Sangma said Mukherjee was not a Congress nominee, but a UPA sponsored candidate.

On being asked about his comment terming the President house as a dumping ground, Sangma said he had said about the Congress.

Asserting that Mukherjee had failed as the Finance Minister, he said inflation was at its peak, the value of rupee has touched the lowest level and corruption was rampant and for all this the Finance Minister was responsible.

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