‘Another RSS man': INDIA bloc slams NDA's V-P pick; Akhilesh asks Dhankhar's whereabouts
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was picked after detailed discussions with alliance partners, and the party's ideological fount, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), people familiar with the details said on Sunday, as reported by HT earlier.
The 68-year-old BJP leader is said to be rooted in RSS ideology and is known in the party as a soft-spoken, non-controversial figure.
CP Radhakrishnan is also the only BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, to have been elected to the Lok Sabha twice in 1998 and 1999.
What Opposition said on NDA's V-P pick
While some opposition leaders acknowledged CP Radhakrishnan's his credentials, some hit out at the NDA for fielding 'another RSS man'. Congress MP Manickam Tagore stated that the INDIA alliance leaders will convene to discuss their stance and decide on their candidate.
Manickam Tagore also took to X earlier and said, Another RSS man fielded as NDA candidate for vice president of India. After PM, Speaker now … Another Institution… Another battle to protect. Hope INDIA decides."
'There was a vice president, where's he': Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, asked the whereabouts of the Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned as vice president of India last month citing health reasons. "The position of Vice President is vacant. There was a vice president here. Where is he? A new one will be elected. It is a good thing. What decision we will take, that is a different matter. We will sit and decide...," Akhilesh Yadav said.
When asked about BJP leader and defense minister Rajnath Singh following Radhakrishnan's candidature, he further stated, '...Rajnath Singh ji is a senior leader. He is from UP, he is the Defence Minister. If they talk, we will talk and if there is a need to talk, we will talk. But our political line will be clear when INDIA Alliance decides...'
Another SP leader, Virendra Singh, said, 'This decision has not been taken by the NDA but by RSS... The constituent parties of the NDA must understand what is their importance in a BJP-led government.'
From the Shiv Sena (UBT), MP Priyanka Chaturvedi noted Radhakrishnan's administrative background and said she hopes the dignity of the position will be restored if he is elected as the vice president of India.
"CP Radhakrishnan has been the Governor of Maharashtra for the past one year... He has also been the Governor of Jharkhand, an MP, and I hope that if he is elected, the dignity of this position will be fully restored, as we have seen this position weakened significantly... As far as the INDIA alliance is concerned, the INDIA alliance will make a decision on this together," Priyanka Chaturvedi said.
Priyanka Chaturvedi's party colleague Sanjay Raut also acknowledged CP Radhakrishnan's merit but added that the INDIA bloc is yet to make a decision.
"CP Radhakrishnan is certainly the Governor of Maharashtra, a very balanced personality... If the Governor of Maharashtra becomes the vice president, we will be happy, but an election will take place. The INDIA alliance will make a decision, I cannot say what that decision will be... but today we will discuss it and decide. There is a more serious issue in the country than the vice presidency, the issue of vote theft, and we do not want to divert attention from it," news agency ANI quoted Raut as saying
The vice president election is expected to see a clear contest between the NDA's nominee and a yet-to-be-announced candidate of the INDIA bloc.
The post of vice president fell vacant after Jagdeep Dhankhar sudden resignation on July 21, the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, citing health reasons.
The Election Commission had earlier announced that polling for the vice presidential election will take place on September 9, with counting of votes scheduled for the same day.
The last date for filing nominations is August 21 and the deadline to withdraw nominations is August 25.
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