Guwahati, July 6 (IBNS): United Progressive Alliance (UPA) presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee on Friday once again rejected the his opponent P A Sangma’s call for a debate ahead of the Presidential election.
On a two-day visit to North East India, Mukherjee said at a press conference in Guwahati on Friday that such a debate was not needed in Indian politics and it was redundant.
“There is a vast difference between Indian politics and American politics,” Mukherjee said, when asked why he had turned down a call to face his opponent in a manner that is prevalent in the U.S.
“I came here as a presidential candidate and urged for all political parties in the region to play a vital role in the upcoming presidential election,” he said.
During the press conference Mukherjee said on the matter of UPA member Trinamool Congress not supporting him, the final decision will be taken by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
Mukherjee arrived at Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, where he was welcomed by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhubaneswar Kalita.
Later he attended a meeting with the CM of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and state ministers, MPs and MLAs at Srimanta Sankardev Kalashetra in the city.
Apart from the meeting with the CM, ministers, MPs and MLAs of the Congress-ruled state governments, Mukherjee also discussed issues with leaders of AIUDF and BPF.
Mukharjee is expected to fly to Agartala on Saturday, where he will talk with the leaders of political parties including Congress over the presidential election.
