Mangalore: No complaints, but I could qualify as candidate, says Harsha Moily
Pics: Brijesh Garodi
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (BG)
Mangalore, Mar 3: Harsha Moily, whose nomination for Congress internal election (or primary) to choose the Lok Sabha candidate from Mangalore was rejected, on Tuesday March 4 addressed a press meet and said that although it was not the best start to his career in electoral politics, he has no complaints.
At the outset, he thanked all the people who helped him in the last several months and said, "I wish to thank party leaders and workers of the constituency who have showered so much love and affection on me in the last several months. It was your trust and faith in my abilities that gave me the courage to make my nomination for the primaries." He also thanked the media.
Lauding the concept of internal election, he said, "The concept of primary is one of the best steps the Congress party has introduced. By introducing this process the Congress party has shown that it really believes in true democracy. It is one of best decisions taken by AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
"I was a huge learning experience for me, and gave me insights into how we can improve on this pioneering effort," he added.
As suggestions to improve the internal election process he said, "Internal election has been introduced on an experimental and pilot run. It is important that we include block office-bearers, and booth president and workers are voters for the primaries."
"Secondly, I strongly believe that the guideline stating that the decision of the AICC general secretary / secretary incharge of the INC primary shall be final on the claim of the candidate' defeats the entire purpose and the objectives of the primaries which was set up to make the ticket allotment process fair and transparent. Providing arbitrary and discretionary power in the hands of one individual makes this a non-transparent and unfair clause. I am sure this is an issue that will have to be addressed and necessary corrections will be made for future primaries," he said.
"I came here to work for party and take more responsibility. But I will accept the decision with regard to my nomination. However, I believe that I am an able candidate under the category of social service that I had opted for, but the general secretary had a different opinion.
On the Yettinahole project, he said, "The chief minister and Dr Veerappa Moily have made it clear that this is a drinking water project and will not affect the people in Dakshina Kannada. But it will be useful to many. I have gone through the project report thoroughly, and I can assure that the people of Dakshina Kannada will not face any shortage of water."
Elaborating on his reasons to aspire for the MP ticket from Mangalore, he said, "I put in my nomination for the primary because I was determined to build the next line of leadership for the Congress party in Dakshina Kannada and stregthen the party and focus on making the district the benchmark for communal harmony and development in India.
"Over the last many months I travelled the length and breadth of this constituency, and reached out to leaders and workers through large forums, individual meetings and phone calls. I may not have been able to meet or call everyone, but I tried my best to reach all of them. This rigorous schedule of meetings and travels was only possible of the hard work put in my by campaign team members. They made an extraordinary effort for the sake of constituency and the party and I will forever be grateful to them," he said.
'I believe I qualify as candidate'
On the rejection of nomination form, he said, "The non-acceptance of my application is not the end of my political journey. It has further inspired me to work harder for the party workers and the citizens of this constituency. I will continue to work in the Dakshina Kannada constituency, and will most definitely volunteer to campaign for the Congress nominee for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections."
He further clarified, "I was informed on March 2 that my application had not been accepted. The reason for non-acceptance was stated as non-satisfaction of the eligibility criteria.
"Needless to say, I am very disappointed by this decision because I firmy believe that I do qualify as a candidate under the third criteria mentioned in the candidate handbook namely: 'A person of standing in public service / social cause and who is not a member of any other political party'. As stated in my application, I have been involved in the service of public through my role as a trustee and secretary of Kisan Sabha Trust. The Trust has been set up for a social cause, and is actively engaged inthe management of a charitable school for children from low income families," he said.
"Further, I am of the view that in my role as managing director and CEO of Moksha-Yug Access India Pvt Ltd (MYA), I have contributed to the economic uplift and development of dairy farmers in rural India.
"The above mentioned roles and responsibilities clearly made be an eligible candidate for the primary for the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency under the criteria of 'a person of standing in public service / social cause'," he said.
"The AICC general secretary in charge of the primary took the view that I am not eligible to contest under that criteria. It is now obvious that his understanding and view on this criteria was different to mine. While I do not agree with his stance, I have come to accept it and move on in the interest of Congress party," he added.