Right to oppose govt being snatched, democracy ruined in India: Yashwant Sinha

Democracy stands ruined in the country as the right to oppose the government is being snatched Yashwant Sinha the joint nominee of the opposition parties in the July 18 presidential polls claimed here on SaturdayStating the presidential election should not be made a question of identity but a fight for ideology he urged the electoral college to listen to the voice of their conscience while votingSinha who was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet and an MP from Jharkhands Hazaribag met JMM executive president and Chief Minister Hemant Soren and sought his partys support in the election He also met Congress legislators of the state during the dayWhen I started the campaign for the presidential poll last month I had said that democracy is in danger But now when I am concluding the campaign today I can say that democracy stands ruined in the countryHe said it was all the more evident after the government updated a list making words such as ashamed abused betrayed corrupt and jumlajeevi unparliamentary and prohibited demonstrations inside the Parliament campusSinha alleged that the Centre has been brazenly misusing almost every institution ED CBI Income Tax department and even the office of the Governor to create defections in opposition parties and to topple state governments run by themThis has happened in Madhya Pradesh Karnataka Goa Arunachal Pradesh and most recently in Maharashtra he claimedI will not be surprised if similar dirty tactics are employed to destabilise the JMMCongress government in Jharkhand in the near future he told a press conferenceOn the NDAs Presidential candidate the former union minister said he has personal regard for Droupadi Murmu a tribal leader of OdishaSinha said But what I wanted to know from the members of the electoral college is that should India have a silent and rubber stamp Rashtrapati Should Indias next President protect the Prime Minister or the ConstitutionThe Presidential election should not be made that of identity but of ideology he saidTo a question Sinha said The President is a post of dignity It has limited power If they BJP really want to empower tribals why dont they make her Murmu the Prime Minister of the countrySeeking conscience vote from the legislators regardless of their party affiliations he said that there is no whip in the Presidential election which takes place on the basis of a secret ballotThe great makers of the Constitution devised the method of secret ballot to underscore the fact that members of the electoral college should have the freedom to heed the call of their conscience Sinha saidThe former Union finance minister claimed the Indian economy is grossly mismanaged nowSinha who began his campaign from Kerala on June 28 reached Jharkhand after campaigning in various states such as Tamil Nadu Chhattisgarh Telangana Karnataka Gujarat Jammu amp Kashmir Rajasthan Haryana Punjab Assam Madhya Pradesh and BiharThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever