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Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury has described the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to West Bengal to reportedly discuss the Teesta water sharing issue with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as "needless" interference of Washington. Yechury told reporters here that the United States is committing a 'gross impropriety' by prying in India's national matters. "As two sovereign countries, India and Bangladesh will decide on what should be our water sharing arrangement, and, we do not require the help or assistance or interference of anybody, and, we think there is a gross impropriety been committed by the US and its Secretary of State to go directly to an elected chief minister of one state in India when this is a matter that concerns the governments of two sovereign countries, that are India and Bangladesh," he added. Commenting on the presidential polls, Yechury said his party is awaiting an official proposal from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). "As far as the presidential elections are concerned, we have said that we are now waiting to see what are the official proposals that would be made by the ruling coalition, because we have said that we would like to have a President who will have the widest possible support," said Yechury. Both the Congress-led UPA and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) lack majorities in the electoral college for the July presidential polls. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil's term ends on July 25 this year. She has been President since July 25, 2007. The President is the constitutional head of the country and the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Yechury dubs Clinton visit to West Bengal as 'interference'