Cong renews appeal,offers olive branch to Mamata

Stating that those political parties which had decided to support him would vote for him,he said,“But those who have not taken a decision,I appeal to them to decide and support the UPA candidate.

Asked to comment on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remark that the UPA still hoped of support from the Trinamool Congress,Mukherjee replied,“I have no comment to make on what the Prime Minister has said.”

The West Bengal Congress,meanwhile,softened its stance against ally Trinamool’s opposition to Pranab Mukherjee’s candidature,and held out an olive branch,seeking Mamata Banerjee’s support for the outgoing finance minister.

“We expect all parties in West Bengal,whether Congress or Trinamool Congress or Left parties,to come together to support Pranab Mukherjee,not because he is a Bengali but as someone who has come up from Bengal,” WBPCC chief Pradip Bhattacharya told reporters here.

At Belur Math,which was set up by Swami Vivekananda,Pranab enquired about the progress of work to commemorate 150th birth anniversary of the great monk and philosopher.