'Will contest prez poll if NDA proposes rightist face'

Attempting to add a secular versus communal tinge to the Presidential election, the Opposition parties hinted that they will be forced to contest the poll if the BJP-led NDA proposes a candidate with rightist credentials.

JD(U) senior leader Sharad Yadav, perceived to be in the race for the post from the Opposition camp, stated a consensus can emerge on the Presidential nominee if the NDA’s choice of candidate believes in the Constitution.

“If they (BJP) propose a name who believes in the Constitution, who understands it and believes in its propriety, then there can be a consensus. We will talk,” Yadav told a news agency.

“In their three years of rule,  they have done things outside the Constitution, like ‘love jihad’. Where is it written in the Constitution? Our Constitution, in fact, allows adults to marry people of their choice, irrespective of caste and religion. They have attacked this concept. They do nothing to remove caste barriers, but practice ‘ghar wapsi’,” Yadav said.

Yadav’s assertion was a veiled attack given earlier reports that the BJP may field a hardliner drawn from saffron outfits, but the ruling alliance has not made any official announcement on its choice so far. The BJP is not in a hurry to declare its candidate, but is confident of having numbers to install its own applicant in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, with Pranab Mukherjee retiring on July 24.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had a couple of days ago stated that the Opposition will be consulted after the BJP had made up its mind on its candidate.
DH News Service