No objection to Pranab as president: Karunanidhi

DMK on Saturday gave its backing to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) presidential candidate. “If he is the candidate of the UPA coalition, DMK will not hesitate to back his candidature,” DMK chief M Karunanidhi told reporters here.

Asked about his earlier observation that his party favoured a ‘good President’ and whether Mukherjee could be the one, the DMK chief said, “I have no objection. But there has been no decision on the presidential candidate.”

The DMK leader, whose party is a key partner in the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, recalled that he had invited the Finance Minister as early as in 1969 for a conference on state autonomy. Asked whether Mukherjee was acceptable to the DMK, Karunanidhi said, “If the majority opinion is that, then DMK will also subscribe to it.”

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday parried questions on whether the AIADMK would support Pranab Mukherjee for presidency, saying the party has not yet been approached by anybody in this regard. She said no “concrete proposal” has been put forward by anybody to her party on the issue of the candidate for the presidential polls scheduled to be held in July.

“The AIADMK has not yet finalised its stand or strategy with regard to the presidential elections. And no concrete proposal has been brought to us so far by anybody,” she told reporters at the Tamil Nadu House here. She was asked about her opinion on Pranab Mukherjee being the Presidential candidate.

Former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Saturday said Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee are able candidates for the President’s post. “Hamid Ansari is a good friend of mine and a knowledgable person. Pranab Mukherjee is a walking encyclopedia. Whoever occupies the post will follow the law and precedents,” Aiyar told reporters here on Saturday.

When asked to name his preferred candidate, he refused to take sides and said both are equally able. He criticised BJP leader Sushma Swaraj’s reported remarks that Ansari was not qualified for the post, and said this only showed she was not fit for the role of the Leader of Opposition.