Curtail powers of President, says Mahajan

NASHIK, February 25: Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Pramod Mahajan has sought a constitutional amendment curtailing the powers of the President and Governors in choosing the prime minister and the chief ministers, respectively.

Addressing an election meeting on the banks of river Godavari here today, in which hundreds of pilgrims were taking a holy dip on the occasion of Mahashivratri, Mahajan said that choosing the prime minister should be the prerogative of the Lok Sabha members while the choice of the state chief ministers should be left to the MLAs and that the President and the Governors, respectively, should have no say in the matter.

Mahajan asked the pilgrims to vote for the BJP-Shiv Sena candidates, or else they would commit a sin. He urged the people to donate their vote to the saffron alliance nominees and make a decision to the effect on the holy occasion, without naming the Mahashivratri festival. He further said that instead of donating a vote, people should loan their vote to hisparty and its allies, which would give good returns after Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the prime minister.