Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday questioned Opposition’s presidential nominee Meira Kumar’s neutrality by posting a video of her Lok Sabha speech in 2013. In the six-minute-long video, the former Speaker is seen repeatedly interrupting Swaraj, who was then the leader of Opposition, when she levelled corruption charges against the United Provincial Alliance government. “This is how Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar treated the leader of Opposition,” Swaraj tweeted.
In the video, Kumar repeatedly said “thank you” and “all right” to Swaraj. The video was uploaded by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s YouTube account. The external affairs minister also attached a link of a report published in the English daily Pioneer that said Swaraj was interrupted “at least 60 times”.
Kumar is pitted against National Democratic Alliance candidate Ram Nath Kovind for the upcoming presidential election. According to political experts, the Opposition chose Kumar to make the presidential election a fight between two Dalit faces. The presidential election will be held on July 17. Current President Pranab Mukherjee finishes his term on July 24.
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