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Sunday, Jun 24, 2007
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National

‘NDA is frustrated’

Special Correspondent

Dasmunsi, Pawar flay the alliance’s “mudslinging”

NEW DELHI: Union Ministers Sharad Pawar and Priyaranjan Dasmunsi on Saturday lamented the Opposition mudslinging in the run-up to the Presidential election.

Briefing mediapersons after the UPA-Left candidate Pratibha Patil filed her papers here, Mr. Dasmunsi said, “The frustration, desperation and certainty of loss were making the National Democratic Alliance” malign her.

Mr. Pawar said he had never seen such a malicious campaign in his 45-year-stint in politics. While he sought to clear the air about allegations of Ms. Patil’s involvement with a defaulting Maharashtra-based sugar mill, Mr. Pawar chose not to comment on the charge of her covering up a murder case involving her brother as the matter was sub judice.

However, seeing the NDA’s hand in raking up the murder case, Mr. Pawar said Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal had clarified that his party was not involved in bringing it up though the premises of Akali MP Sukhbir Singh Dhindsa here was used to host the press conference where the allegations were made on Friday.

Mr. Pawar said Mr. Badal, who met him on Saturday morning, made this clarification.

Respect for President

As for AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa’s charge that UPA Ministers’ comments — about President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s willingness to contest in the event of “certainty” in the outcome — “wounded” him, Mr. Pawar and Mr. Danmunsi clarified that they had the utmost respect for the First Citizen and the office he holds. “Our statements pertained not to the President but to a potential candidate.”

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