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Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad
The Left Front's presidential nominee Lakshmi Sahgal on Thursday asked the IT-savvy Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to do a bit of reading on the Internet on the Indian National Army and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and their role in the Indian freedom struggle.
Her cryptic advice came at a media conference in Hyderabad when she was asked to comment on Chandrababu Naidu's remark that he had not heard of Lakshmi Sahgal before the Left Front announced her candidature for the President's post.
"I read his statement in which, when informed about my candidature, he said he had never heard of me. He is at full liberty to correct me. I don't mind it at all if he does not know me. There are many people who do not know me. I am surprised that he has not heard of INA. It is very, very unfortunate if he does not know what the Indian National Army is and what role it played in the freedom struggle," she said.
Sahgal, who was in the city on a day's visit, said she had no time to meet Chandrababu Naidu to seek his party's support. "I have no time to meet political leaders," she said.
"Even though I may not win the [presidential] election and, going by the numbers, I know that I cannot win, I am contesting because the people must realise that the country, its Constitution, its democracy and secularism are in grave danger."
"Unless we put an end to the communal virus, the country is doomed and it will cease to be an independent country," she said.
She said the policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar were leading the country to disaster. The dreams of the freedom fighters for real freedom to all people have not been achieved with the governments selling away the country to foreign imperialists, mainly the US. "We call ourselves the biggest democracy, but we need to examine whether we are really a democracy," she said.
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