‘Meira Kumar is a formidable candidate for the post of President’

There are almost 300 farmers languishing in the jails of MP, they should be released immediately, says Jyotiraditya Scindia.

With the forthcoming presidential elections and the ongoing farmers agitation in various parts of the country dominating public dialogue, Congress’ senior leader and party’s chief whip in Lok Sabha, Jyotiraditya Scindia, spoke with Ashhar Khan on the two issues.

After much deliberation, the Opposition parties have finally suggested a presidential candidate. Do you think the choice was forced upon them to make it a dalit vs dalit election? 
Well, I think every political party has a right to put forward its candidate for the election to the highest post in the country, which is of the President of India. Hence, 17 parties came forward and proposed the name of Meira Kumar as she holds an exemplary track record and has distinguished herself in multiple fields, whether as a former foreign service professional or a member of Parliament or a Union minister in successive governments or a Speaker of Lok Sabha.

She hails from a family that has always been at the forefront of our country’s service. She is a formidable candidate for the post of President. Now that the combined Opposition has put forward a candidate, and that too a formidable one, I hope all parties will support her.

There seems to be a perception that the Opposition unity was dented after both the BJP and the NDA announced its presidential nominee, more so because the Congress had been working on strengthening Opposition unity for a while now…
No, not at all! The Opposition stands united, as it has always been, and now we must wait for the election process to play itself out. We have always stood together, which was evident in the last couple of sessions of Parliament. I am sure you all have seen this for yourself, both inside and outside Parliament.