Naidu gets emotional on leaving his party

M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday explained why he became emotional and sobbed at the meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board on Monday when he was chosen as the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) Vice Presidential candidate.

"I lost my mother at a very young age of one year and six months. Then I treated my party as my mother and they have really brought me up to this level. It is very painful to leave the party... That's why I became a little emotional," he told reporters after filing his nomination papers for the Vice Presidential poll.

"I want to make one thing clear that I come from a humble, agricultural background. I don't have a great family background. There people are committed to agriculture and that is our basic culture," he said.

Naidu said from that background he had risen to this level with the support given by people and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "I have held various responsibilities. I used to enjoy working with the people and with the people of the party."

Naidu was announced the ruling NDA's nominee for the Vice Presidential poll by BJP President Amit Shah on Monday evening after the party's Parliamentary Board meeting, which was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

--IANS

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