BJP "trivialising" Presidential polls: Renuka Chowdhury

Hyderabad, July 5 (UNI) The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ''trivialising'' the Presidential elections by launching a ''smear'' campaign against UPA-Left Presidential candidate Pratibha Patil, Union Minister of State (independent charge) for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury said.

''Ms Patil is a non-controversial person. The BJP is raking up needless controversies all of a sudden after her name was decided by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi,'' Ms Chowdhury, spokesperson for the Presidential candidate, told a meeting organised here last night by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ladies Organisation (FLO).

The Supreme Court's rejection of the petition against Ms Patil proved that all the charges levelled against her were ''baseless'', she said.

On criticism that Ms Patil was not known to many people, she said ''it was merely lack of general knowledge that one does not know a Governor of a state.'' UNI