Presidential Poll is not 'Dalit vs Dalit' issue but fight to strengthen Indian republic, says Sitaram Yechury

The CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that the presidential poll is not a ‘Dalit versus Dalit’ contest but a fight to safeguard and strengthen the Indian republic.

Yechury claimed the fight for the opposition was to safeguard the republic against a candidate who was backed by parties set to “destroy” the republic’s foundations and “our fundamental values”.

Yechury claimed claimed in his Facebook post that the government and particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi were keeping mum at a time when there was a growth of lynching mobs which were targeting Dalits and minorities especially.

“This is not a Dalit versus Dalit issue as is being made out by some. It is our fight to safeguard and strengthen the Indian republic,” Yechury said in the post.

“Having spawned the politics of hate, and now from the silence of top leaders of the ruling party, especially the PM, the aiding and abetting of violating fundamental right of equality to all its citizens, this attack on India’s Constitution is more than evident (sic),” he alleged.

He made the comments after he joined Meira Kumar along with leaders of 16 other opposition parties as she filed nomination for the presidential polls earlier in the day.

Kumar filed her nomination in the presence of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, saying it marked the beginning of her “fight for ideology”.

Kumar, 72, who is fielded against NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind, will launch her campaign from Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat on June 30.

(With PTI Inputs)