Srinagar: Independent legislator from Langate Engineer Rasheed on Monday abstained from casting his vote in presidential election.
“I abstained from voting because incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee didn’t keep his promise of not hanging Afzal Guru. When he came to Kashmir as a presidential candidate he had promised me that he will take a sympathetic view on Guru’s hanging,” Rasheed said.
Rasheed said that he had submitted a memorandum to Mukherjee when he was in Kashmir for campaigning seeking clemency for 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
“He told me that he will take a sympathetic view. But he betrayed me and Kashmiri people,” he said.
Sources in the Legislative assembly said that the election officers made several attempts to persuade him to vote but he refused to turn up for voting.
Guru was hanged and buried on February 9, 2012 inside the Tihar jail in New Delhi as he was convicted by Supreme Court for Parliament attack.
Voting to elect 14th President of India began on Monday morning here in Legislative Assembly. The 87 MLAs of J&K Assembly are eligible to vote, with each vote carrying a weight of 75 votes. The nine MPs of the state will vote in the Parliament.
The contest is between National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee Ram Nath Kovind and candidate of several major opposition parties Meira Kumar, who was former Lok Sabha Speaker.
Of the 87 eligible voters from Jammu and Kashmir assembly, only Rasheed boycotted while as other members cast their vote during the day. (KNS)
