Presidential election was never contested on ideology before: Meira Kumar

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) presidential candidate Meira Kumar had termed the ensuing election as “historic” as it was contested on ideology.
 

“Never before had the presidential election in India been contested on ideology,” she said after meeting the Congress MPs and MLAs in Raipur on Wednesday evening. 

Currently, Kumar is in Chhattisgarh as part of her campaign for the presidential election.
 

She underlined that secularism was under threat and the atrocities on Dalits and tribals had recently increased across the country. “To raise my voice against the atrocities, I am contesting the election,” the Opposition candidate for the top constitutional post said.
 

Meira said that for the first time 17 parties have decided to contest the election together on an ideology, adding, "This election would make a place in history and is an opportunity to defeat the ideology working on caste and religion."

“I have written to the MLAs and MPs of all the parties and urged them to vote according to their conscience,” she said. 
 

The former Lok Sabha speaker said casteism should be “buried in the ground”. When asked about making the presidential election a Dalit versus Dalit issue, she remarked that she was happy as well as disappointed. “It is sad that we are talking of caste even in the 21st Century,” Meira added.