New Delhi: Former Supreme Court Judge B. Sudershan Reddy was named the INDIA bloc’s candidate for the Vice President post. Notably, Justice (retired) Reddy’s name as the INDIA Bloc’s V-P nominee was announced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to all Members of Parliament, including those from the Opposition, to support the NDA’s Vice Presidential candidate, C P Radhakrishnan, for the Vice President’s post.
“Shri B. Sudershan Reddy garu is one of India’s most distinguished and progressive jurists. He has had a long and eminent legal career including as Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court and Judge of the Supreme Court. He has been a consistent and courageous champion of social, economic and political justice,” Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
“He reflects, fully, the values that shaped our country’s Freedom Movement so profoundly, and the values on which our country’s Constitution and Democracy have been anchored. All these values are under assault and therefore, our collective and determined resolve to fight this election,” the Congress chief added.
Earlier reports surfaced that the INDIA bloc would choose senior DMK leader & MP Tiruchi Siva as its nominee for the V-P post. After Justice (retired) Reddy’s name was announced by the Congress chief, Siva told news agency ANI that the decision was taken by the all Opposition parties after analysing every aspect.
Meanwhile, Congress MP KC Venugopal called it an “ideological fight” and raised questions on the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar from the V-P post.
“This is an ideological fight. The country doesn't know the reason behind the resignation of the last vice-president, Jagdeep Dhankhar...On one side, we are fighting for the constitutional rights...This country is facing big ideological issues....We are fighting to save the Constitution,” Venugopal told the news agency.
DMK MP Kanimozhi said that the INDIA Bloc selected the candidate who respects the Constitution, “This is an ideological fight. So the Opposition parties came together to select one candidate against the candidate who comes from RSS background. The candidate the Opposition has selected is the one who respects the Constitution,” she said.
“Just because you (BJP) have a candidate from Tamil Nadu, doesn't mean you care about Tamil Nadu, Tamil language or values of the state,” Kanimozhi added.
On August 17, the BJP-led NDA alliance announced Radhakrishnan’s nominations as its candidate for the V-P Post.
The election was necessitated by the resignation of incumbent Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21, citing health reasons. In his resignation letter, Dhankhar said, “To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as the Vice President of India, effective immediately, in accordance with Article 67(a) of the constitution.”
Schedule For The V-P Election:
The Election Commission of India (ECI) notified that nominations for the Vice Presidential election will close on August 21, with scrutiny on August 22 and withdrawals permitted until August 25. Polling and counting will take place on September 9.
