Mamata logs on to Facebook to back Kalam as President

New Delhi: Facing criticism from almost all political circles for opposing Pranab Mukherjee's candidature for the post of President, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who hitherto relied on his ground level politics, on Saturday ventured into the world of micro blogging to support APJ Abdul Kalam win the Presidential race.

The Bengal firebrand leader, who on Friday warned her opponents that "the game is not over yet and has just begun", took the unprecedented step of buzzing the social networking medium after the ruling party tried to isolate her on the issue of Pranab's nomination, making the 'Didi' to sound the bigul from a completely new platform, Facebook.

The irony of Mamata's appeal through Facebook is hard to miss as she had drawn the ire of the netizens by arresting a Jadavpur University professor for on-line circulation of cartoons involving Mamata and Railway Minister Mukul Roy.

However, believing the reach and impact of the online medium, Mamata on Saturday logged on to Facebook and appealed to users to come out in support of the former president. "I have already put across my viewpoints in Facebook. Whatever I have to say, I will say on Facebook", Mamata said.

In her first post, she kept the lining simple, while making an emotional appeal to all the users to support 'missile man' Kalam in their own ways.

Recalling Tagore's famous lines 'Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high' in her first posting she said, "I am a humble, transparent, common person like the vast majority of you".

The Trinamool Congress chief wrote, "I gave voice to what millions of Indians want to see in a President". She claimed there was already a good response to the post on the social network.

Stating that the will of the people was supreme in a democracy, Mamata requested fellow citizens to petition their public representatives to stand up, support and vote for Kalam. "Let your voice be heard. I will bow to the will of the people", she said.

Here is Mamata's message on Facebook:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my father let my country awake – By Rabindranath Tagore

Brothers and sisters, my fellow countrymen,

Today I am starting a dynamic engagement process with all of you through this page. This is my first post on this page. I am a humble, transparent, common person like the vast majority of you. I gave voice to what millions of Indians want to see in a President.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is a proud and distinguished son of India who continues to inspire all Indians. He embodies qualities I greatly admire and believe in practicing daily. He is a man of integrity who has held his head high and made the nation proud through his achievements. He is a seeker of truth, a fount of knowledge and an impartial voice of reason and sanity, who is above narrow politics. He is the kind of man all our citizens aspire to make President.

My Party is a small party. We are not a big party with none of the resources others possess. We are led by truth and conviction. All through my life I have stood by my principles. I stand by the position I have taken.

We in the All India Trinamool Congress support Dr. Kalam as the Presidential candidate. I have already given a clarion call to other parties to support Dr. Kalam as President. Along with my other fellow citizens I can only urge them to consider this call. Let our country be led forward by people such as him, people of free thought and honourable action who will not hesitate to do what is just and right.

In a democracy people’s will is supreme. I request all my fellow citizens to petition their public representatives to stand up, support and vote for Dr. Kalam. Let your voice be heard. I will bow to the will of the people.