Observing that the Presidential election is taking place under "extraordinary circumstances", the joint candidate of Opposition parties Yashwant Sinha on Saturday said his fight to safeguard democratic and constitutional values in the country would continue even after the poll.
Sinha, who visited Hyderabad as part of his poll campaign, was accorded a grand welcome at the Begumpet airport here by TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
At a meeting of TRS legislators organised in support of Sinha's candidature, Rao appealed to the electorate in the Presidential election to vote as per their conscience and make Sinha victorious after making a comparison between the two candidates who are in fray.
Rao, popularly known as KCR, recalled that V V Giri was elected President in the past following an appeal to the voters in the then election that they should vote as per their conscience.
Addressing the TRS legislators, Sinha, who attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the present Presidential election is taking place under "extraordinary circumstances" and referred to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's reported comments that the "nation is collapsing". "We see that collapse in front of us from every perspective," Sinha said.
Referring to the candidature of NDA's Droupadi Murmu, who belongs to the Santhal tribal community, Sinha said he is often asked about it and his reply has been that it was possible to forge a consensus.
But, it was the responsibility of the government to speak to all for evolving a consensus, he said.
The government did not do so as the present regime at the Centre does not believe in consensus, Sinha alleged. "They believe in confrontation," he alleged.
Referring to the row over the comments of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, without naming her, he said no legal action has been taken against her so far. The PM is silent on the issue, he said.
"This fight will continue even after this election. We will keep on fighting," he said.
The fight is to safeguard the country against "collapse", for the future of the country and for the coming generations, he said.
Alleging misuse of government agencies by the Centre against political rivals, Sinha cited media reports about NCP chief Sharad Pawar getting I-T notices.
The misuse of government agencies has been unprecedented, he said.
Sinha also said he tried to speak to Modi over phone after filing his nomination as Presidential candidate. However, he was informed that the PM was not available and Modi has not called him back so far, he said.
Sinha, who thanked KCR for his party's candidature and the grand reception accorded to him, praised the Chief Minister for his leadership.
The country needs leaders like KCR, he said, adding that his fight for safeguarding democracy in the country begins from Hyderabad today.
Sinha also met the legislators of AIMIM during the day. TRS and AIMIM had already announced support to him.
State Congress president and MP A Revanth Reddy said Congress would not meet Sinha when he had met Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao. The state Congress had earlier announced that its representatives would meet Sinha in Delhi.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Rao, who spoke before Sinha, launched a no-holds barred attack against the PM, alleging that not even a single promise made by the latter has been fulfilled.
"Which promise you have fulfilled," he asked referring to PM Modi.
The country's prestige has taken a beating during Modi's tenure following the claims of a government functionary in Sri Lanka over awarding a project, Rao claimed.
Rao, who lambasted the BJP and Modi during his hour-long speech, said the NDA government failed in containing inflation, unemployment, doubling farmers income, bringing back black money, checking the fall in value of rupee, in implementation of ‘Make in India’, growing hatred in the country on communal lines, addressing the woes of migrant workers during Covid-19 pandemic and others.
He also alleged that the country is falling in rankings of various development indices like hunger, individual rights and press freedom.
Rao alleged that some of the cabinet ministers sitting in Hyderabad say that they can bring down the TRS government the way they did in Maharashtra.
"You do it. We are also waiting for that. So that we will become free. We will bring you down from Delhi," he said.
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