Advani tells UPA to withdraw Pratibha

Leader of Opposition L K Advani on Friday made an 'appeal' to the ruling alliance to replace its presidential nominee Pratibha Patil with any other suitable candidate of its choice in the backdrop of allegations levelled against her.

In a statement in New Delhi, he cited allegations against Patil as head of a co-operative bank and charges by a woman that the former Rajasthan Governor's brother was involved in a murder.

'Each of these is a serious revelation that tars the reputation of any person in public life whose norms of probity demand that he or she comes clean. But taken together, the revelations are of such grave nature that they completely and incontestably render a person unfit to occupy the highest constitutional office in the country,' Advani remarked.

He insisted none of those allegations had been cooked up by the opposition.

'I appeal to you (the Prime Minister), therefore, to once again consult your ministerial colleagues and leaders of the allies of your party and nominate any other suitable person for the presidential election,' he said in the statement.

Advani added that he was saddened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's defence of Patil by accusing the opposition of mudslinging.

He said the 'revelations' can be sourced to 'verifiable records of the RBI, other government agencies and memorandum submitted by the people affected by the scandals.'