A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked the NDA to support the UPA candidate for the president’s post, the BJP on Sunday said it would discuss all options, including Mr Singh’s request, at its next meeting.
“We will discuss all the options at our next meeting,” senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said when asked to comment on Mr Singh’s remarks.
“I hope this time the NDA would endorse the candidate who is suggested by the UPA and Left allies,” Mr Singh had said on Saturday, reminding the Opposition alliance that last time when Mr Kalam was nominated by them, the Congress had backed him.
“We have authorised Mr Vajpayee to take a final decision on the NDA strategy for presidential elections. He is carrying all the negotiations on behalf of the NDA and in our next meeting, he will brief about all the developments,” she said on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the party’s cultural unit to condemn the controversial paintings of M F Husain and an M S University student.
Referring to the exhibitions of such paintings, Ms Swaraj said that kind of controversy has become a trend to sell products.
“The market trend is that if you want to sell your product then first publicise it projecting it as controversial and that will create inquisitiveness among masses and the product will be sold out,” she said, adding “nobody should be allowed to play with the sentiments of a community.”