Rise above party lines, elect Vice-President unanimously, Narendra Modi urges lawmakers

PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday appealed to leaders across party lines to rise above partisan politics and elect the 15th Vice-President unanimously. However, hours after his appeal, the Opposition announced its own candidate, B Sudarshan Reddy.

The PM felicitated CP Radhakrishnan, Maharashtra Governor and NDA’s vice-presidential nominee, at a meeting of the coalition’s parliamentary party in the Parliament House complex.

Floor leaders of all NDA partners and MPs from the BJP and its allies attended the gathering ahead of the V-P election scheduled for September 9.

Modi introduced Radhakrishnan, highlighting his simplicity and dedication to social service. He recalled Radhakrishnan’s roots in the RSS and his long association with him, noting that while Radhakrishnan was skilled in sports, he “does not play games in politics”. This remark was widely interpreted as a veiled reference to former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned abruptly on July 21.

Radhakrishnan will file his nomination papers on Wednesday in a show of NDA unity, with CMs and Deputy CMs from BJP and NDA-ruled states expected to be present.

The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and BJP president JP Nadda. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju facilitated the introductions.

Modi remarked on the stability of the Indian economy despite US tariffs and said former PM Jawaharlal Nehru signed the Indus Waters Treaty, giving away 8 per cent of India’s waters to Pakistan. Modi said while his government had placed the treaty in abeyance in the interest of farmers, contrasting his approach with Nehru’s dismissal of protests by Jana Sangh MP Atal Bihari Vajpayee as “hue and cry over a few buckets of water”. He also recalled Nehru’s “not a blade of grass grows there” comments in Parliament, downplaying the occupation of parts of Ladakh by China.

The electoral college for the V-P election is comfortably tilted in favor of the ruling coalition. The YSRCP recently became the first non-aligned party to openly support Radhakrishnan.