Yashwant Sinha makes final appeal, claims Droupadi Murmu will be a 'silent rubber-stamp'

A day ahead of the Presidential Elections, Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha appealed to all members of the electoral college to vote in his favour, asserting that the election was not about the identities of the two candidates in the fray but an ideological battle. Taking to Twitter to share an open letter, Sinha stated that while his ideology is the Constitution of India, his rival candidate Droupadi Murmu represented 'forces whose ideology and agenda is to change the Constitution.'

"I stand for safeguarding India's democratic system. My rival candidate is supported by those who are mounting daily attacks on democracy. I stand for protecting secularism, a Preambular pillar of our Constitution, which is best exemplified by India's age-old
Ganga-Jamuni heritage of unity in diversity. My rival candidate belongs to a party that has made no secret of its resolve to destroy this pillar and establish majoritarian supremacy," wrote Sinha.

"I stand for encouraging politics of consensus and cooperation. My rival is backed by a party that practices politics of confrontation and conflict. I stand for the Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and rights of every Indian citizen, without any discrimination. My rival is chosen by those who are violating this principle with impunity. I stand for harmonious Centre-State relations and Cooperative Federalism. My rival is the nominee of an establishment that has launched multiple assaults on the Federal Structure of the Indian Constitution. Never before have so many powers been concentrated in New Delhi, and never have states felt so disempowered and demeaned," he added.

Sinha launches direct attack at Murmu, claims she will be 'subservient' to PM

Furthering his attack on Murmu, Yashwant Sinha claimed that while he stood for one nation and many parties, his rival was under the control of those whose aim was to convert democratic India into an 'imitator of Communist China' and its one nation, one party and one supreme leader ideology.

"Must this not be stopped? Yes, it must be. Only you can stop it. It was never the intention of Makers of the Constitution that the highest office of Republic should be used for the appeasement of any section of our society. Much less did they envision the office of President to be subservient to that of an all-powerful Prime Minister," he stated.

Making his final appeal, the former Union Minister claimed that if Murmu was elected, she will become a 'silent, pliant and rubber-stamp Rashtrapati'. "Therefore, before you cast your vote tomorrow, I wish to make one last appeal to you. Please ask yourself: What kind of President does India deserve? One who will protect the Constitution or one who will protect the Prime Minister?" he asked.

He also hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stating that it was regrettable that the party that was once led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani was now 'dead and gone.' "This election is your last chance to introduce much-needed course correction in the BJP. By ensuring my election, you have rendered a great service to the cause of saving the BJP and saving democracy in India," he concluded.