2nd term in office? Postpone answer, says Kalam

If one wants to know if President A P J Abdul Kalam is willing to stay in office for a second term, here are some first-hand responses from the man himself.

If one wants to know if President A P J Abdul Kalam is willing to stay in office for a second term, here are some first-hand responses from the man himself.

Speaking to mediapersons on board Air India One on his four-day visit to Strasbourg and Greece, he said: “In 2002 I was teaching how technology can transform the nation. Suddenly, I got a phone call and was told to stand for the presidential elections. Economic development of the nation and its prosperity is my focus. Whatever profession I am in, that will remain my focus. The only issue here is that the nation is bigger than the President. But I would like to postpone answers to these questions for now.”

When pointed out that certain Kashmiri organisations based here may hold protest demonstration to coincide with his visit to draw attention to the Afzal Guru issue, Kalam replied that India was a democracy of one billion people. The European Union members are also democratic countries and believe in freedom of expression, he said.

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On Afzal Guru’s sentence, the President said the law would take its own course. “If the government refers the matter to me I will act on it. I will take a decision,” he added.

The President, whose first engagement in Strasbourg will be a lecture at the International Space University, lauded India’s successful launching of PSLV 8 as a great achievement. “It’s a milestone. Now, we are one of the space powers. India has now entered the tough space commercial market.”

Referring to the issue of reservation, the President said that increasing the number of seats was the answer to the problem. He cited the example of engineering where there are surplus seats now, adding that the same thing has to happen in other branches as well.