Peoples' faith in politics has diminished, would like to see its revival: Gopalkrishna Gandhi

New Delhi, Jul 18:  Lamenting that there is today a big chasm between the politics of the country and its citizens, the joint opposition nominee for Vice President Gopalkrishna Gandhi today said people faith in politics had diminished and he would like to see its revival. Responding to allegations by Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut that he opposed death penalty for Mumbai blasts accused Yaqub Memon, Mr Gandhi, who filed his nomination for the post here, said, ''I believe that the death penalty and capital punishment belong to the medieval ages. I believe that the death penalty is wrong. I believe in that and in that capacity, as a person who is opposed to the death penalty, I have taken inspiration from two persons, Mahatma Gandhi who was against the death sentence and Babasaheb Ambedkar who said, it is only proper that we should do away with the death penalty altogether.'' In this context, he said he had written a letter to Pakistan President to remove the death penalty on Indian citizen Kulbhushan Jadhav. Pointing out that Mahatama Gandhi opposed the death penalty, Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhi said,''he felt assassins' bullet and he himself felt the bullets. His two sons the lion hearted Manilal Gandhi and the gentle Ramdas Gandhi both of them appealed the Government of the day saying Nathuram Godse should not be hanged; Narayan Apte should not be hanged. Gandhi Ji was opposed to the death penalty. I belong to that school of thought.'' At the same time, he asserted that these were his personal views. ''I am an ordinary citizen and I am not associated with any party. My views are my own,'' he said. Mr Gandhi said as Vice-President, he wanted to reduce the gap between the politics of the country and its citizens. ''There's a chasm between politics and citizens of the country. I want to reduce that gap. The peoples' faith in politics itself in fact has diminished, has almost collapsed. I would like today to see a revival of that faith. Nobody understands the problems faced by the country that the citizens themselves. It is from that inner experience of the problems of the citizenhood that will emerge the solution to those problems and I believe that the people of India today need me and any other candidate for any other representative position not as an Opposition candidate or a person representing a Party in power but as a person who is just expressing the inner feeling, the inner fear, the hopes and aspirations of the people,''he said. Expressing concern over increasing attempts to create divisions within the society, Mr Gandhi said,''We are living in times of division. A whole force that is dividing our country is in action, is in what can be called action mode and that spills danger to our future not just as a polity but as a Nation and as a civilization.'' He said as a candidate for the Vice-Presidential elections, he was trying to present before the electors the aspirations of the people. ''I am not here to oppose any person or party. I am here with all humility to place before electors the aspirations of citizens of the country,'' he said. Mr Gandhi filed the nomination in the office of the Rajya Sabha Secretary General in the presence of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party Vice-president Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, AITC leader Derek O'Brien, JD-U leader Sharad Yadav and others. Mahatma Gandhi's grandson is pitted against NDA candidate and former Union Minister of the Narendra Modi-led Government, M Venkaiah Naidu, in the contest for the Vice-President's post. Mr Naidu also filed his nomination today, the last day for filing papers. UNI