Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Now, a symbolic contest” (June 24). With due regard to Meira Kumar, the fact is that much of what she is today is due to her being the daughter of late Jagjivan Ram. Ram Nath Kovind has no such background and he is a self-made person. The selection of Meira Kumar, as the Congress-led Opposition’s presidential candidate, has exposed the Opposition’s hypocrisy as, more than anything else, it is because of her being a Scheduled Caste member and to counter the BJP’s candidate, she has been chosen.
It may be recalled that the Congress could have easily installed Meira Kumar as President in 2007, when it was in power at the Centre. Instead, it brought a little known Pratibha Patil to become the President. The Congress has refused to support Kovind saying that no effort was made to build a consensus. It is only when the BJP is in power that consensus is talked of. While in power, the Congress, unilaterally, selected and installed its candidate as the President.