President should be one who can discharge duties based on values, experience: Brinda Karat

New Delhi, May 1 (ANI): Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) leader Brinda Karat on Tuesday asserted that a person who could discharge his or her responsibilities based on values, principle and experience should be the next president of the country.

Politburo member Karat said this while interacting with mediapersons after May Day celebrations held at the partys headquarters here.

"We want that the presidential candidate should be such person who can serve the responsibilities of a President based on the values and principles and also on the basis of the experiences," said Karat.

She also said that nobody has the right to comment on the stature of any person who has truly served in a responsible manner for the strategic growth of the country.

Recently, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj had remarked that the Vice-President Hamid Ansari lacked the stature to be president.

On the other hand, CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat said the party was yet to decide on the name of a probable candidate for president and vice-president.

"No, we have not thought of any individual name. We are talking to some other parties. We are consulting with them and we hope that there can be a common understanding emerging on who should be the presidential candidate," said Prakash Karat.

Congress leader P. L. Punia said that it was premature to speculate on the next occupant of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

"You see, these kind of statements are highly premature. Congress party has not taken any decision on who should be the candidate for the presidential election, and whenever a decision is taken, it will be made public, and everybody will come to know about that," said Punia.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shahid Siddiqui said a decision would be taken and everybody would be informed.

"Samajwadi Party has not taken any decision or any name. We have not proposed any name. If somebody is proposing some names then it is not on behalf of Samajwadi Party, I want to say it categorically. I have spoken to our leader Mulayam Singh Yadav this afternoon and he has made it very clear that anybody who is mentioning any names is doing on his behalf not on behalf of Samajwadi party," said Siddiqui.

It is learnt that the Samajwadi Party is mulling over supporting Chief Election Commissioner Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi for the post of president.

The President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Sukhbir Singh Badal, said top leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would collectively decide on the possible candidates for the posts of president and vice-president.

Current incumbent Pratibha Devisingh Patil's term ends on July 25 this year. She was sworn-in as the 12th President of India on July 25, 2007.

The president is the constitutional head of the country and also the supreme commander of the armed forces. (ANI)