BJP needs to suggest names for consensus: Congress

After meeting two senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu to discuss next month's presidential election, the Congress on Friday said that no names were brought up by the saffron party, and added that until the latter announces the names, there is no question of reaching or arriving at a consensus.

"When they haven't given any names, then there is no question of consensus. If they give the names, then only we can discuss it with our allies and other political party leaders," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge told media here.

Meanwhile, another senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that when the BJP will decide over the names, then they will seek the former's cooperation.

"We thought the BJP will bring names for the post of President so that the Congress and other Opposition parties could hold a discussion on those names. But they did not do that and instead asked Sonia Gandhi to suggest the names. The BJP said that they have not decided over a name in the Cabinet meeting. When they will do so then the required things will be in process," Azad said.

Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu reached Congress president Sonia Gandhi's house to discuss matters related to next month's presidential election.

Both ministers will also hold separate consultations with Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in the afternoon, today.

Both of them have already spoken to Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Praful Patel and Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Satish Mishra.

Naidu yesterday spoke to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu over the same.

The TDP chief said that his party will stand by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision in this regard.

The last date of nomination is June 28.