Presidential poll: Congress ridicules Naveen for 'political immaturity'

BHUBANESWAR: Congress on Friday criticized BJD chief Naveen Patnaik's choice of former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma as President, describing the proposal as politically immature.
"With Sangma's own party, NCP, not supporting him, Naveen proposing him as presidential candidate was politically wrong," Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee media cell chairman Narasingha Mishra told a press conference here.
Questioning the silence of Naveen and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa on the elections to the Rashtrapati Bhavan during the past few days, Mishra said, "Naveen's political immaturity now stands completely exposed."
While the BJD is still sticking to Sangma, NCP spokesperson D P Tripathi has gone on record asking the tribal leader to opt out of the race. However, Sangma has said he would contest for the country's top post.
On May 17, Naveen and Jayalalithaa had created a flutter by proposing Sangma's candidature to succeed Pratibha Patil.
Mishra, a former law minister, further criticized Naveen's statement on June 11 ruling out any electoral pact with the Congress or the BJP. "It was absolutely unwarranted and out of context. There has never been any question of Congress either allying or having any understanding with the BJD. It has not happened in the past and should possibly never take place in future," Mishra said.
Referring to the May 29 failed coup attempted by Pyarimohan Mohapatra against Naveen, the senior Congress leader maintained that the "vertical crack" within BJD had made Naveen " mentally disturbed", forcing him to make statements that are "uncalled for". "He (Naveen) needs a political doctor," Mishra quipped, hinting at Pyari, who used to be Naveen's key advisor, is no longer on the BJD president's side.
Accusing Naveen of being "hand in glove" with BJP, Mishra said the Odisha CM had met the saffron party's patriarch L K Advani in New Delhi in May before leaving for England. He said the regional party was "slowly crumbling" and predicted that Naveen would meet his Waterloo in the 2014 elections. "He is scared of his position and hence betrayed his ally NCP and merged four of their legislators with BJD," he alleged.
The Congress leader also rubbished Baba Ramdev's recent statements lauding Naveen's anti-corruption initiatives and charged the yoga guru of indulging in politics.
BJD leaders countered Mishra's claims. "There is no crack and there will never be any crack in the BJD. It is Tytler (AICC general secretary Jagdish Tytler) moving around Odisha imagining a crack in the BJD," Damodar Rout maintained. BJD vice-president Prasanna Acharya hit back at Mishra, saying, "People making such statements have themselves lost their mental balance after the voters repeatedly rejected them."