Indian Presidential poll 2012 is getting dirtier by the day with Presidential candidate P.A. Sangma pulling up his counterpart Pranab Mukherjee, alleging that he hold office of profit.
Sangma and his team had demanded that Mukherjee's nomination be rejected alleging that he was holding an office of profit as chairman of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) at the time of filing his nomination papers on June 28.
Following the objection, examination of Pranab's nomination papers was deferred on Monday, as the Returning Officer (RO) for polls sought for an explanation from Pranab's team over the controversy.
Mukherjee's nomination was accepted on Wednesday after he produced his resignation letter dated June 20 before the Returning Officer. The Kolkata-based institution also confirmed about his resignation before he filed his nomination papers.
However, the problem may not end here. Sangma and his legal team is studying the ruling of the Returning Officer to see if they can take further course of action.
The former Lok Sabha speaker received a certified copy of the ruling of the Returning Officer on Wednesday evening after he requested for it.
The Article 102 (1)(A) of the Indian constitution restricts a member of the Indian Parliament from holding office that would give its occupant the opportunity to gain a financial advantage.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also alleged that the signatures of Pranab Mukherjee on the documents are different, which Mukherjee denied.
The BJP also hinted that Sangma might go to the court after the polls. It may be recalled that a tribal leader from Chhattisgarh was allegedly suspended from Congress for supporting Sangma.
The 14th Presidential elections will be held on 19th July and the Eleection Commission has announced the accepted candidates - Shri Purno Agitok Sangma and Shri Pranab Mukherjee.
The President is elected by the members of the Electoral College consisting of elected members of both Houses of Parliament, and elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States including National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
However, the nominated members of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies of the States are not eligible to participate in the election.
