'NaMo versus RaGa' is not musical but cacophony: Sitaram Yechury

NEW DELHI: Rather than personalities elections should be fought on issues, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury today said and described "NaMo versus RaGa" contest (debate between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi) as "cacophony".

"Instead of the issues you find the NaMo RaGa. Normally the ragas are musical this is cacophony," Yechury said.

More than personalities it was issues that needed to be focused upon, Yechury told journalists at the Indian Women's Press Corps here.

"Our slogan in the next election will be 'neta nahi, niti nayi (not a new leader, but a new policy)," Yechury said.

Responding to a question, Yechury said that his party was not happy the way Samajwadi Party government in UP had handled the riots in the state and "it had been conveyed to them at a convention of secular parties".

Yechuri said the convention was organised to mobilise secular forces at a time when attempt was being made to widen communal divide.

"You had the Muzaffarnagar riots, you had Modi announced by BJP as their prime ministerial candidate. You know the baggage associated with Modi in Gujarat....So this entire atmosphere was being built towards a sharpening of communal polarisation," he said.

He also said that by raising the debate on the role of Sardar Patel, the RSS-BJP were trying to "steal" a link to freedom struggle.