Rajaji, an ardent follower of Gandhi, was a freedom fighter, scholar, jurist, statesman and the first recipient of the Bharat Ratna along with S Radhakrishnan and C V Raman.
With the Opposition seeking to put up a united fight in the presidential poll, some leaders have reached out to former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi as a possible choice, sources said on Tuesday.
The award, which carries a citation and cash amount of Rs 10 lakh, is given for promoting communal harmony and peace.
In a statement, Gandhi said several esteemed leaders of the Opposition have done him the honour of thinking of him for the opposition's candidature in the upcoming elections for the presidency.
An overview of the past vice presidential elections in India, highlighting uncontested wins, multi-cornered fights, and notable candidates.
Quraishi asserted that India has, is and will always stand up and fight for its constitutional institutions and principles.
Gandhi's name was the only name discussed when 18 opposition parties met to decide on their candidate for the vice presidential poll, the sources said.
After the first meeting called by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Delhi and attended by 17 parties, the leaders said that it has been decided that a common candidate who will 'uphold the democratic ethos of the country' will be chosen as the opposition nominee.
As the Opposition held its first meeting on the Presidential polls and names of Farooq Abdullah and Gopalkrishna Gandhi also cropped up, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party reached out to several parties across the political spectrum to build a consensus choice with senior party leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh speaking to Sharad Pawar, Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress), Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress), Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) and Naveen Patnaik (Biju Janata Dal).
Gopalkrishna Gandhi also called up Kumar to say thanks.
His comment came after the Shiv Sena attacked him for petitioning the president to save Mumbai blast convict Yakub Memon from the gallows.
As the Opposition on Wednesday held its first meeting on the presidential election, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party reached out to several parties across the political spectrum to build a consensus choice for the top constitutional post with senior party leader Rajnath Singh speaking to Sharad Pawar, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Naveen Patnaik, sources said.
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha will be the consensus presidential candidate of several opposition parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party, the parties said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Saturday withdrew his name as the potential joint opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, saying he has a 'lot more active politics' ahead of him, and that he wanted to contribute in navigating the Union Territory through the current 'critical juncture'.
In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the party said Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi and National Conference's Farooq Abdullah, the "regular names that crop up during the presidential polls", don't have the personality or heft to make it a tightly-contested battle.
Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote on Monday to elect the 15th President of India, with National Democratic Alliance candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition's Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be cast in her favour.
Despite desertion by 40 MPs, the NDA's vote count went down by only six.
The decision of some key regional parties like the Biju Janata Dal, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the Aam Aadmi Party to skip a key opposition meet called by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the presidential poll has cheered the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as it believes that their absence has only highlighted the faultlines and one-upmanship among its rivals.
Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi dubbed Reliance Industries as a "parallel state" that exercised power "brazenly" over natural and financial resources.
Hasty, ill-conceived steps show how isolated Mamata Banerjee had been from the national political trend. A fascinating excerpt from Sugato Hazra's Losing The Plot: Political Isolation Of West Bengal.
Key UPA constituent Trinamool Congress, however, may propose the name of former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi as Mamata Banerjee is not quite enthusiastic about Ansari's candidature for second term
Like in the Presidential election, Trinamool Congress, which sought to put a spanner in the UPA choice of Pranab Mukherjee, plans to convey its preference for Gandhi at a meeting of the UPA constituents on the issue on Saturday.
From the point of view of qualification, Murmu is probably educationally the least qualified among India's recent Presidents. But then, with the BJP in command, she will be required to do little but sign on the dotted line.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi could only manage 244 votes.
The Aligarh Muslim University will confer the honour on June 7.
"Through the Singur discussions on September 5, 6 and 7, I saw earnest participants showing a rare spirit of accommodation. That spirit needs to be operationalised," a Raj Bhavan release said. Invoking Rabindranath Tagore, the Governor said, Jiban jakhan shukai jai koruna dharai esho (when the heart is hard and parched up, come upon me with a shower of mercy."
"Land is limited, land is precious, land holds a special value to farmers and their families. We have to be sensitive to those who lose land to the industry knowing fully well that the industry also needs space. Emprical evidence shows that options other than compulsory land acquisition are also possible," said West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Without mentioning Singur even once, his speech at the ICC highlighted the farmers' interest.
The RSS wants BJP to field a 'swayamsevak', while the Opposition has mulled fielding former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
A committee constituted under the aegis of the governor of West Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, may seek more time to submit its final report on land to be provided to the agitating farmers.
Showing Gandhigiri, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi went without light on Wednesday, after deciding to have voluntary power cuts at Raj Bhavan, triggering a spat with the Communist Party of India Marxist, which felt the gubernatorial post should be abolished. The action of Mahatma Gandhi's grandson came as an embarrassment to the Left government, with whom he had a run in last year, on its handling of the Nandigram issue.
In the first sign of forward movement to resolve the impasse on Singur issue, the first round of talks between West Bengal government and Trinamool Congress will be held on September 5.Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi agreed to preside over the talks between a state government panel and a five-member delegation of TC, but he declined to be viewed as a third party mediator.West Bengal government welcomed Mamata's remarks as a positive sign.
The Governor had visited Nandigram on Sunday to assess the situation after CPI-M's 'recapture' of the area and said that wrong-doers must not be exonerated and the CRPF should continue there for some more time.
Standing by his denouncement of the ruling CPI(M)'s capture of Nandigram, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Sunday visited the troubled area on Sunday and said wrong-doers must not be exonerated and pitched for presence of CRPF for some more time.
The apex court dismissed the plea stating that the matter was being looked into by the National Human Rights Commission.
Patkar also lauded Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi for indicting the CPM for its role in the violence.
The hard-hitting statement came a day after Gandhi indicted the state government and CPI-M, saying the manner in which the recapture of villages in Nandigram was being attempted was totally "unlawful and unacceptable".
Communist Party of India-Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu on Friday said West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi's action of self-imposed power cuts at the Raj Bhavan was not in consonance with the dignity of the post and that he was 'acting like a child'. He said that it was an act against the state government, adding that he should have consolted with the state's power minister on the matter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and opposition's vice-presidential nominee Gopalkrishna Gandhi extended their best wishes to Naidu.
Gandhi called for the need to reconsider the country's economic policy as the one that encouraged industrialisation and urbanisation, causing "huge population unsettlement" and forcing farmers to migrate to the cities in large numbers, only spurred the COVID-19 pandemic.
They are likely to meet Sitaram Yechury following the meeting with Gandhi.
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