Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, minister for information and broadcasting, who also holds the charge of minister for parliamentary affairs, said that the National Democratic Alliance is stooping too low and carrying out a scurrilous campaign against Congress nominee Pratibha Patil for the presidential poll.
"I will be talking to my friend Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa to find out how his premises was misused by the NDA to hold a press conference for the wife of V G Patil," he said during a press conference at Parliament House soon after Pratibha filed her nomination. A case of tresspass could be registered against those who misused the premises. Media of course would be excluded," he said.
"We filed 70 proposers and 70 seconders from all the political parties within the UPA and those who are supporting us from outside," Dasmunsi claimed. Dasmunsi looked after the nomination process.
He said that while Jayanthi Natrajan has been appointed official spokesperson of the candidate, he would also be available for clarifications to the media.
Others who would interact on behalf of Pratibha, include Janardhan Dwivedi, Devinder Dwivedi, Renuka Chaudhary and Mohan Prakash. The place would be either All India Congress Committee or a place to be designated later on.
Dasmunsi took a dig at the television media in particular for airing the story on Pratibha and cautioned them that action could be taken against them as some of them were not operating under the names they have been registered.
"If I take action against them, you will say that this is an attack on the freedom of speech. We know who in the media have how many cases against them and who goes where," he said with a vicious smile on his face.
