Atmosphere of fear must end: Meira Kumar

The Congress-led Opposition's Presidential candidate Meira Kumar on Tuesday sought support from the legislators and MPs of Bengal's Trinamool Congress, Left and Congress parties.

She stressed on "ideology and ideology alone" as her plank in the presidential contest.

"I have been given assurance that you are supporting me. You have given me so much strength. Kolkata and Bengal have given me strength and inspiration because it is the land of fighters. You have always fought against injustice and atrocities," Meira Kumar told the legislators in the Bengal Assembly. Kumar's father, veteran Congress leader Babu Jagjivan Ram, had studied at Vidyasagar College and had a very long association with Bengal. "Parties who otherwise differ on so many different things (came together). They have placed tremendous trust in me. This unity of 17 political parties is based on firm ideological positions. "Ideology, the philosophy, the value system is so dear to me and is so dear to most of the people of my country. That is why I have decided to make ideology and ideology alone the plank of this contest," she said, adding this unity is of "far-reaching importance."

Meira Kumar also met Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee. She appealed for support from the Opposition, dubbing the presidential election an "ideological war". She said the country was standing at the crossroads of history. "There is one path which leads to intolerance, fear... there is the other path which leads to, in our multi-religious society, tolerance and more than tolerance respect for all religions."

Condemning the "prevailing atmosphere of fear," she said: "Earlier, also, there were religious beliefs and practices, but we never witnessed such an atmosphere of fear." She said there was fear about what one should eat and say. "This has to stop," she added.