Yechury dubs BJP leaders' meeting opposition for Prez elections as 'PR exercise'

Union ministers Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu met Yechury as part of its efforts to reach out to the opposition.

New Delhi, Jun 16: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said on Friday that the BJP reaching out to opposition parties on the presidential election was "more like a PR exercise", after a meeting with Union ministers Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu.

"They (BJP leaders) did not propose any name," Yechury said, reiterating his party's stand that a candidate with "impeccable secular credentials" should be the next president.

Singh and Naidu, who are part of a BJP panel to work out a consensus on the presidential nominee, met Yechury as part of its efforts to reach out to the opposition.

They also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi earlier on Friday. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is the other member of the BJP panel formed by party chief Amit Shah a few days ago.

Stepping out from the nearly 30-minute meeting, Yechury told mediapersons that the BJP panel would meet them again. Asked about the government's efforts to develop a consensus on the presidential candidate, he said there has to be some name (proposed) to arrive at a consensus.

PTI