Pratibha Patil

Pratibha Patil Seeks Support in Bihar



Pratibha Patil, the UPA presidential nominee, upon her arrival in Patna on Tuesday, met with UPA leaders and vowed to maintain the honor and integrity of the office of the President if elected while also lashing out at the NDA for launching a campaign against her intended to malign her image.
"There is a concerted effort by the NDA leaders to destroy my public image but I have full faith in the democracy and if, with the blessings of the people of India, I am elected the President, I promise to strengthen the integrity of the office with full vigor and strength," Mrs. Patil said at a meeting of the UPA leaders at Hotel Maurya in Patna.
The Presidential hopeful, appealing to the emotions of Biharis, said it was Bihar that gave birth to democracy in India."Bihar gave birth to the nation's very first President as it also spread knowledge through Nalanda University throughout the world," Mrs. Patil said.In his speech, Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said Mrs. Patil was poised to win with over 2 lakh votes.
Yadav also challenged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to prove his secular credentials by voting for Patil."This is the time to show whether Nitish Kumar really believes in secularism or he is a RSS stooge," the Railway Minister said.Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan echoed Yadav's sentiments. "They (JD-U) say that their alliance with Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is merely political compulsion. Now is the time to prove if they mean what they say," he said.The meeting was also attended by Communist leaders Badrinarayan Lal, Ramdeo Verma, Rabri Devi, Ramkripal Yadav, Mangnilal Mandal, Subhash Yadav, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Kanti Singh, Nikhil Kumar and a host of other UPA leaders.Mrs. Patil who was accompanied by Lalu Prasad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan, and Digvijay Singh, arrived at Patna Airport where they were accorded warm welcome by Rabri Devi, Shakeel Ahmed, Sadanand Singh, Jaiprakash Yadav, Sadhu Yadav, and Subodhkant Sahay.
Presidential election is scheduled to be held on July 19

Posted by Akshat at 2:37 PM