PM Modi appeals for unanimous election of NDA's vice presidential candidate CP Radhakrishnan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, August 19, appealed to all parties for the unanimous election of NDA's vice presidential candidate CP Radhakrishnan. Praising his life of public service, PM Narendra Modi made the appeal to even the Opposition MPs.

Radhakrishnan was felicitated at a meeting of the MPs of the ruling party. He is expected to file his nomination on Wednesday, August 20. Meanwhile, the Opposition bloc, too, has picked its Vice Presidential candidate. Former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy as its candidate for the Vice President's election.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters that Modi, in his address, appealed to various parties, especially the Opposition, to back Radhakrishnan to ensure that he is elected unanimously.

PM Modi introduced the Maharashtra governor, who is a seasoned BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, to the NDA MPs, citing his long public life in which he served ably in different capacities.

MODI ON INDUS WATER TREATY

In his speech, Modi also raised the Indus Waters Treaty, criticizing then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for signing it with Pakistan without consulting Parliament or his Cabinet. Nehru did to burnish his own image at the cost of the interest of the country, he said, according to sources.

Over 80 per cent of the waters was allowed to be used by Pakistan, he noted.

The Modi government put the treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack. The prime minister said his government has been undoing the sins of that era, the sources added.

PM Modi also said that Nehru later told a colleague that he had believed that the agreement will help resolve other issues with Pakistan but it did not happen, PTI mentioned.

Kiren Rijiju said that CP Radhakrishnan has lived a simple life, free from controversy or blemish, and added that his election as Vice President would be a matter of pride and joy for the entire nation.

With the BJP-led NDA enjoying a comfortable majority in the electoral college comprising MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Radhakrishnan's win is a certainty amid indications from the opposition INDIA bloc that it will field its own candidate and force a contest.

(With agency inputs)