Hyderabad: NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday said he has had no affiliation to any political party for the last few years and that he would discharge his duties as President of India in an apolitical manner, without compromising the dignity and decorum attached to the position.
He was speaking at a function organised by the ruling TRS in his honour.
He stressed that as head of the Constitution he will function as per the rich traditions established by his predecessors. He said though he had been in the BJP for several years, he had resigned his party membership before he became Bihar governor.
“I have not joined any political party even after I resigned as Governor and now as Presidential nominee I will be above politics,” Mr Kovind said.
He pledged to stand for the all-round development of the nation, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, region and geographical considerations. He thanked chief minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao for announcing his support for his candidacy well before his name was officially announced. He also thanked him for the rousing reception at Begumpet Airport and for the number of hoardings put up in the city to welcome him.
He also thanked Mr Rao for speaking in Hindi, which he said was the national language, to honour him, as he hails from the Hindi belt.
He proclaimed that the Indian Constitution was like the Bhagavad Gita, Quran and Bible for him. Being the President of a nation of over 125 crore and the largest democratic country in the world, is an honour, with predecessors such as Rajendra Prasad, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, R. Venkatraman, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Dr Zakir Hussain, Dr Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy.
