BJP-backed presidential poll candidate P.A. Sangma on Sunday targeted finance minister and UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee for the economic slowdown.
“If the rupee is at an all time low, if the international rating for credit has been downgraded, (there is) so much of corruption, who is responsible...?” he asked.
Mr Sangma, who is supported by BJP, AIADMK and BJD, was talking to reporters here during a visit to the Golden Temple.
“You see individually, it is the finance minister who is responsible for price rice, for corruption, for devaluation of money and (the issue of bringing back) blackmoney... collectively the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, but individually it is the finance minister’s responsibility,” he said.
Mr Sangma, who is pinning hopes on a “conscience vote” and his tribal identity, has virtually dared Mr Mukherjee for a debate ahead of the presidential poll, saying democracy needs debate on the current economic scenario.
Congress has, however, dismissed as a “non-starter” Mr Sangma’s challenge to Mr Mukherjee for a debate. “The Constitution does not ordain or mandate that the President of India manages the economy of the country. Therefore, the suggestion for the debate is non sequitur (a statement that does not logically follow the previous statement) and non-starter,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari has said. A Punjab government release later said CM Parkash Singh Badal assured him SAD’s “full support”.
Mr Sangma said he was “quite hopeful” of his victory since he was enjoying comfortable support from NDA. Besides, many other political parties have given him an assurance to vote in his favour, he said.
He also said many political parties having alliance with UPA could vote for him. He maintained that though Mukherjee was enjoying “support of corporate world”, he was getting backing of the masses and cited the example of V.V. Giri, who won the presidential poll as an Independent candidate.