Presidential Election 2017: Venkaiah Naidu says he cannot see why Congress opposes Ram Nath Kovind

New Delhi: Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said that he could not understand why the Congress was opposing NDA Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

File image of Venkaiah Naidu. PTI

"Kovind is a good candidate. He is non-controversial, educated and experienced and has been good as Bihar Governor. He has worked among the weaker sections and the downtrodden. I cannot understand why (the) Congress is opposing him," Naidu said after Kovind filed his nomination.

"They are saying we finalised the Presidential candidate without consulting them. But we had reached out to them and asked for their support. It is their democratic right to contest. But most of the major political parties turned up today at Kovind's nomination," he added.

"We have a comfortable majority. All major political parties are supporting Kovind. The Congress alone knows why it is contesting because they do not have numbers on their side," he said. "I would still ask them to support ... Kovind."

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the Congress was not sincere towards the Dalits or the Dalit cause.

"Had it been so, they would have fielded Meira Kumar in the last election itself. Now, after the NDA nominated a Dalit, they have brought in Meira Kumar to pit a Dalit against a Dalit to insult the Dalits."

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi said the Congress was insulting "Bihar ki beti" (Bihar's daughter) by forcing her to take on another Dalit candidate.

"Now that the BJP has named a Dalit candidate, they started seeing all the virtues in Meira Kumar. This is an insult to 'Bihar's daughter'," Sushil Modi said.

Meira Kumar, daughter of former Deputy Prime Minister and Dalit icon Babu Jagjivan Ram, hails from Bihar.