Thanksgiving Day Kalam’s first day out in New Delhi

The President-in-waiting, Dr A.P.J. Abul Kalam, went on a thanksgiving spree today, calling on leaders of all the parties backing his nomina...

The President-in-waiting, Dr A.P.J. Abul Kalam, went on a thanksgiving spree today, calling on leaders of all the parties backing his nomination and spending time with his mentors.

Arriving in the Capital on the morning flight from Chennai, Kalam was escorted by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan.

In a day that was spent rushing from one meeting to another, Kalam called on President K.R. Narayanan, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav.

‘We have to have a vision
for the nation’

• On his political inexperience: You gain experience from what you can see and what you learn. Experience builds up wisdom, wisdom helps you to understand and tackle problems.
• On Gujarat: I feel we have to have a vision for the nation. You will find reduction of all types of deviation from suicidal norms in future.
• On his roots: If you remember how you began and where you began, that is how you will become humble. You can recall how your past experience helped you and adjust it with your way of working.
• On canvassing for Presidentship: I have been touring states earlier. In fact, I will visit more states now that I am a candidate.

Kalam will be filing his nomination papers tomorrow morning, preparations for which were being made till late in the night by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), including getting the required 60 signatures to second the nomination.

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‘‘As far as I am concerned, I am the candidate. You should understand that I am a candidate now with many supporting parties. The National Democratic Alliance, Congress, Mulayam Singhji’s party and the BSP are supporting me. So what you see is that people want me,’’ said Kalam, soon after landing in Delhi.

On his shift to politics, he said: ‘‘I want to ask you what is politics? Politics is the generation of leadership in many fields — social sector, development and also technology. And tomorrow’s world is a technological world. The kind of core competence, technology and management — this combination I definitely have. I will give it to my Parliament if I am elected.’’

Commenting on what would be his main contribution as a President, Kalam said: ‘‘The President’s post and position is a system to integrate the minds of the nation. So, I will be working with the Parliament, with the Cabinet. To see how we can see the integration of mind is done. That is the main task I will have.’’

During the day, after meeting his long-time mentor, George Fernandes, for over half-an-hour, Kalam joined Vajpayee for lunch. According to sources, he thanked the Prime Minister for supporting his name.

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In the afternoon, he paid a ‘‘courtesy call’’ to Naryanan and then met Mulayam for half-an-hour, during which he expressed his hope of learning Hindi in the next three to six months. He then wound up his exhaustive schedule by calling on Sonia to express his gratitude for her support.

Sources said Kalam was keen to continue his academic work even after he moves to Rashtrapati Bhavan. ‘‘Dr Kalam believes in putting in over 18 hours of work everyday. He wanted to find out whether there would be any constitutional hindrance in his pursuing his studies. He was assured that there could be no such hindrances,’’ said the sources.

Till late tonight, Minister of State for the PMO Vijay Goel was busy collecting the required 60 signatures necessary for seconding Dr Kalam’s nomination papers tomorrow. Senior leaders from various NDA constituents were trooping in to sign their support for Kalam.

Kalam’s nomination will be accompanied by three sets of supporting papers. While Vajpayee will file a set on behalf of the NDA, Sonia and Telugu Desam Party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is expected to arrive tomorrow, will file the others.

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The Congress papers will be seconded by Dr Manmohan Singh, Natwar Singh, Shivraj Patil, Najma Heptulla, P.M. Sayeed, Ambika Soni, Ahmed Patel, Pranab Mukherjee and Jaipal Reddy.