Hyderabad: Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday ruled out mid- term polls for the Lok Sabha, calling it a rumour.
Speaking to newspersons here, he said the people had given Prime Minister Narendra Modi a mandate to rule for five years and “we will complete our full term. There is no second opinion on this; we will go for polls only in 2019 as scheduled. Holding simultaneous polls has nothing to do with mid-term polls, for which we are not ready.”
He said asking the BJP cadre to be prepared for 2019 elections from now cannot be construed as a call for mid-term polls.
BJP open to consensus
Prime Minister Modi and BJP president Amit Shah had merely told the party cadre to prepare for the next general election, he said.
Asked if there should be consensus among parties for selection of the country’s next President and Vice President, he said the BJP was not against consensus and would welcome such a move.
“Since both are higher Constitutional posts, let there be no politics in this process. I hear Congress president Sonia Gandhi has started gathering opinions from different political parties. Let some suggestions come and we will think about it,” he said.
Referring to criticism by Congress leaders of the Prime Minister's appeal to the Muslim community on the triple talaq issue, Mr Naidu said, “What is wrong in the Prime Minister asking the Muslim community? It is not a religious issue; it is purely a gender discrimination issue that has been going on for decades and which our Congress friends never tried to resolve.”
He insisted it was about the rights of Muslim women and their dignity and not anything else.
“Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikharjun Kharge are claiming to be the champions of Muslims. I ask them why they have kept silent all these years. Why did they not open up when there was discrimination of Muslim women?” he asked.
