Top leaders of Opposition parties on Monday decided to come together to prevent the BJP from coming back to power in the next year’s Lok Sabhs polls.
In a meeting of Opposition parties attended by leaders and representatives of 21 political parties, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, former Union Ministers Sharad Pawar, Sharad Yadav, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, it was resolved to take every possible step to defeat the BJP and protect the important institutions in the country.
However, two major political parties of Uttar Pradesh arch rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party were conspicuous by their absence. Both the parties in recent times have fought together in some of the important by-elections.
Briefing the media about the meeting, while Rahul said there was consensus that all parties will work together to defeat BJP/RSS, Mamata said the Opposition leaders will soon meet the President of India over misuse of agencies and Government institutions and accused the Modi Government of behaving like a dictatorial regime.
Rahul said there is consensus among Opposition parties to work together to defeat the BJP and protect India’s institutions. The meeting was coordinated by TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu.
The Congress president said India needs a Government that does not put a conspiratorial lid over multiple corruption scams like Rafale nor becomes an abettor to the escape of bank defaulters. “India needs a Government where economic growth focuses on addressing the concerns of small traders, shopkeepers and micro, small and medium enterprises that have been devastated by demonetisation and the ill-planned implementation of GST,” said Rahul.
We need a Government where harassment of businessmen and industrialists would end and the spirit of enterprise must be allowed full freedom, Rahul said.
Mamata hit out at the Modi Government over Urjit Patel’s resignation, saying it is a matter of “great shock”. “Institutions, from the CBI to the RBI, have become total disasters. This has never happened before. It is a matter of great shock. We must protest,” Banerjee said.
She proposed that the meeting should continue on Tuesday and leaders of Opposition parties should also meet President Ram Nath Kovind over Patel’s resignation. “The BJP is behaving like a dictator. There should be a campaign against this rule. Everybody has agreed to that,” she said. “Financial stability is not there... Financial emergency has started,” she alleged.
The meeting, held in Parliament annexe, came a day ahead of the results of the Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram Assembly polls as well as the Winter Session of Parliament.
Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and H D Deve Gowda, also a Janata Dal (Secular) leader, Sonia Gandhi, DMK chief M K Stalin and National Conference supremo Farooq Abdullah were also present. Top Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, A K Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot were also present.
The others who took part were Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leaders Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha’s (JVM) Babulal Marandi. All the leaders issued a joint statement accusing Modi and the current dispensation of attacking the democratic system of the country during the last 55 months.