By IANS,
New Delhi: Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy Saturday praised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for naming former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as a presidential candidate and said he would like to see United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate Pranab Mukherjee being challenged.
“We respect Mamata and salute her. She has shown guts and grown in national stature. I personally would like to see that Pranab is challenged,” Swamy told reporters.
He said the crude methods which UPA chiarperson Sonia Gandhi had used to bring people on board needed to be exposed.
The UPA Friday announced Pranab Mukherjee as its presidential candidate. The Congress is trying to build a consensus on Mukherjee’s name for the post.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) core group is meeting Saturday to discuss the party’s candidate for the top constitutional slot, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is expected to meet Sunday.
The presidential election will be held July 19.