I do not indulge in mud-slinging, says Pranab

A day after the Election Commission rejected the petition filed by the P A Sangma camp objecting to the nomination of Pranab Mukherjee, the UPA Presidential candidate on Thursday said it was now a closed chapter.

"Since all the disputes about my nomination have been resolved by the returning officer, there was nothing left for me to say about them," Mukhejree said during an interaction with the media in Bhopal.

Citing Constitutional and legal provisions, the Election Commission on Wednesday rejected the petition of opposition-backed P A Sangma camp saying it was not maintainable before it. On the many charges levelled against him, Mukherjee said, "I do not indulge in mud-slinging."

Mukherjee arrived in Bhopal on Wednesday as a part of his campaign tour. He first drove to a hotel where he met Congress MLAs and MPs from Madhya Pradesh.

All seven MLAs from the Bahujan Samaj Party and the lone Samajwadi Party MLA from the state also met him.

Later he said that he was thankful to the various political parties, including the Shiv Sena, Janata Dal-United and Communist Party of India-Marxist, which have extended support to him. It was the duty of the President to defend, protect and preserve the Constitution, he said.

Asked if he was worried about the call for "conscience vote" by Sangma, Mukherjee said, "Everyone always votes as per the conscience."

Sangma, who visited the state for canvassing votes earlier, had said that he was hopeful of a repeat of conscience vote for him on the lines of the 1969 Presidential election.