Left parties endorse Sudershan Reddy's candidature for vice presidential poll

New Delhi, Aug 29 (PTI) Left parties on Friday issued a joint appeal, endorsing the candidature of B Sudershan Reddy as the opposition-backed candidate for the vice presidential poll.

The BJP-led NDA has nominated Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan as their vice presidential candidate. The election for the vice president's post would be held on September 9.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Bloc jointly issued the appeal.

"We, the Left parties, endorse the candidature of Justice Sudershan Reddy (Retd.), who is contesting the election on behalf of all the opposition parties," they said.

" Justice Sudershan Reddy is an eminent jurist, widely respected for his unwavering commitment to the core values of the Indian Constitution -- Democracy, Secularism, and Equality," they said.

The Left parties said the vice presidential election is not merely about numbers.

"It represents a contest between two fundamentally different perspectives on the future of India -- whether our nation will continue as a constitutional democracy upholding secularism, or be reduced to a Hindutva authoritarian State," they said.

"It is a battle to safeguard our syncretic culture and to resist the BJP-led NDA government's ongoing attempts to undermine democracy and enforce authoritarianism through the misuse of Constitutional positions such as those of the Vice President, Election Commission, and Governors, among others." The Left parties appealed to all electors for the vice presidential election to place the interests of the nation above all else, to recall the oath they have taken to protect the Constitution and to cast their vote in favour of Reddy. PTI AO KSS KSS