"We don't want any statue in Rashtrapati Bhavan," Tejashwi Yadav had said earlier.
Bihar's opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav, targetted by the BJP over his "statue" comment on NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, today hit back at the ruling party, questioning if they respect women so much, why did they vote against Pratibha Patil in the Presidential elections 15 years ago. He also presented a list of what is required of a President in the current political atmosphere, and declared that earlier, he had only responded to a reporter's question on who he would vote for.
Droupadi Murmu has not held a single press conference after being chosen as the NDA candidate, Tejashwi Yadav had said on Saturday, adding to the political row over Congress leader Ajoy Kumar's "evil philosophy" remark.
"We don't want any statue in Rashtrapati Bhavan, we are electing the President. You must have always heard Yashwant Sinha but we have never heard the voice of the presidential candidate of the ruling party," Mr Yadav had said ahead of the Presidential election.
Asked about the matter today, Mr Yadav said, "They (the BJP) are now talking much about a woman candidate. Do they even know how to respect women? If the BJP respects women so much, why did they oppose and voted against Pratibha Patil? Who made her the President? That was the first time a woman was being elected."
"I have nothing against Droupadi Murmu. I'm sure she is a good woman. But being the President -- a President has to be a person who protects the constitution and saves democracy. And wherever there is lawlessness, hatred is spewed, religions are pitted against each other... in such a situation the President is the only hope. We need a President who is strong, who can be apt of checks and balances…" he added.
On Saturday, the Bihar BJP had strongly criticised Mr Yadav for his comments. State BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal condemned his remarks and said they expose his "anti-tribal" and "anti-woman" mindset.