By IANS,
New Delhi : The Congress Thursday criticised Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee for suggesting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s name for the president’s post, saying it did not behove of an ally to do so.
“Manmohan Singh is the prime minister of the country…it is a constitutional post…how could she (Banerjee) suggest his name for the presidential poll,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters.
“It did not behove of her,” she said.
Soni said the Congress president would hold consultations with allies and supporters to arrive at a consensus on UPA’s presidential nominee.
“I cannot comment on it,” she said when asked whether Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would be the final choice of the party.
On Wednesday, both Banerjee and Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav had virtually rejected the likely Congress candidates for the high office – Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari. They had instead suggested the names of Manmohan Singh, former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee.