Opposition parties’ presidential candidate Meira Kumar today said that she is contesting this election for ideology.
The former Lok Sabha Speaker further said that she strongly believes in the age-old tradition of respecting one's own religion as well as other religions with the same zeal.
"Yeh vichardhara ki ladai hai, mere liye yehi hai," Meira Kumar told media at Sadaqat Ashram, the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters in Patna on the final day of her three-days visit to Bihar to seek support for her candidature.
Before leaving for Ranchi to campaign, she said that in India since ancient times people used to respect their own religion and at the same time respect other religions. "It is an age-old tradition of our country."
She said that Bihar is her birthplace. "Yehi meri janambhumi hai, I am proud of it."
In reply to a question, Meira said opposition unity is based on ideology and ideas.
She reiterated that the Presidential vote should be decided on the basis of inner voice. "I have appealed to all to vote as per their inner voice," Kumar said while downplaying Bihar Chief Minister and JD-U President Nitish Kumar's decision to support NDA's Presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind.
Earlier, she visited her native village Chandwa in Bhojpur district on Friday where she garlanded the statue of her father Babu Jagjivan Ram, an iconic Dalit leader.
(With IANS inputs)
