'Don't make Presidential poll a municipal one'

Advising the political leadership to maintain the dignity of Presidential nominees, Communist Party of India leader A B Bardhan on Sunday said the election to the country's highest constitutional post should not be brought to the level of a municipality poll.

Talking to reporters, the CPI general secretary described as 'uncalled and unjustified' the allegations against UPA-Left Presidential nominee Pratibha Patil and her relatives.

Lashing out at senior BJP leader L K Advani without naming him, Bardhan said, "He was facing chargesheets in the hawala and Babri Masjid cases when he occupied the offices of deputy prime minister and home minister and was keen to become prime minister. Now, he is levelling allegations against Patil."

Advani had asked the UPA-Left to replace its Presidential candidate in light of the charges against her.

The Congress has been restrained from induldging in counter-allegations against NDA-supported Independent candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat since it will bring disrepute to the highest office, Bardhan observed.

"Either of them will occupy the post and so let's prepare ourselves to welcome the new incumbent with all dignity and respect," he said.

"I never said Patil was a great economist or a chief executive officer," he said in reference to a cooperative bank, founded by her, defaulting on loan payment.

"But I knew her as a matured and honest politician having been MLA for several years, minister in various portfolios and deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. What else do you require," the veteran leader asked.

Bardhan, whose party supports the UPA government from outside, said after the Presidential and Vice-Presidential polls, the four Left parties will review the performance of the three-year-old Congress-led administration.

He said the Left parties were not satisfied with the inordinate delay in bringing key legislations like the women's reservation bill and agriculture labourers and workers social security bill.

"Since only two years are left for the general election, the Left parties want a critical review of the Common Minimum Programme before deciding on extending their outside support to the UPA government," he stated.

"I rule out nothing," was Bardhan's reply when he was asked whether the Left parties, whose backing is crucial for the survival of the government, will withdraw support to the UPA.

On the contentious issue of SEZs, he said uneven and distorted development in these tax-free enclaves will not help.

Bardhan said he was against extending a plethora of concessions, including in tax, to SEZ developers and felt land allotment should be restricted to 500 acres.

"A level playing field should be provided as, in the name of SEZ, many concession packages are being offered to developers. Only capitalists are getting benefits and the SEZ issue is becoming one of land grab in the name of industrialisation," he alleged.