DEVIL'S ADVOCATE | A B BARDHAN
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'Don't blame Pratibha for what her kin have done'
Published on Sat, Jun 30, 2007 at 11:56, Updated on Sat, Jun 30, 2007 at 13:21 in India section
Tags: Devil's Advocate, A B Bardhan
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The race for Rashtrapati Bhavan is getting murkier by the day with allegations and charges being leveled against UPA nominee Pratibha Patil with alarming frequency.
Two days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came out in defence of Patil, dismissing all allegations and charges against her as mudslinging, CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan too has towed the line.
In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN’s Karan Thapar on Devil’s Advocate, Bardhan said that Patil can't be held accountable for her brother's actions.
Excerpts from the interview
Karan Thapar: It’s alleged that Pratibha's brother Dilipsingh Patil has acquired in his house a bank phone that he used for his personal stock market transactions, and he ran up a bill of Rs 20 lakh. It's alleged that unsecured, and therefore, unlawful loans were given to her sugar factory, which later had to default. It’s alleged that her relatives were given jobs in the bank in disregard of SC and ST reservations.
A B Bardhan: You will have to prove, you will have to prove that all she did was for her brother, and she is responsible for what her brother did. After all she is not her brother's keeper. If her brother is guilty of any crimes, he should be prosecuted.
He's also said he doesn't agree with Patil's views on sterilisation, but he'll continue to support her for the Presidentship.
Karan Thapar: Speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly as health minister on December 10, 1975, Mrs Pratibha Patil said we are thinking of forcible sterilisation of people with hereditary diseases. First of all, do you approve of forcible sterilization?
A B Bardhan: I don't, I don't, but that doesn't mean I agree with everything she does or says.
Karan Thapar: Let’s explore this a little further. People with hereditary diseases include people with heart disorders, diabetes, should such people be forcibly sterilised?
A B Bardhan: I don't think there should be forcible sterilisation of at any stage
Karan Thapar: So, you completely disagree with her?
A B Bardhan: I disagreed with this whole policy of Congress at one stage
Karan Thapar: Then how come such a woman who said this in the assembly - it is recorded in the assembly records - is your nominee for President?
A B Bardhan: She is not going to forcibly sterilise anybody, she is not going to follow those policies, and she is not called upon to.
The full interview with A B Bardhan will be aired on Devil's Advocate, Sunday, 20:30 hrs (IST). The transcript will be available on IBNLive.com.
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URBANEYE
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So he accepts that there is something undesirable in her family. Now has she disowned her family? As a citizen
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great Bardhanji,
Sadar Pranam
If you agree on this principle than donot blame congress for what was done in bofors as
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