In the latest bid to forge an Opposition unity to take on the might of the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday called upon leaders of 19 Opposition parties to unite and fight the ruling party, not just inside Parliament but also outside in national interest.
Giving the call for the first time in a virtual scheduled meeting of leaders from Opposition parties, including TMC, NCP, RJD, Shiv Sena and JMM, Sonia cited how the unity of the Opposition power in Parliament had forced the Government to amend the OBC Bill.
While the BSP continued to remain away from such meetings, the AAP wasn’t invited at all.
RLD, Indian Union Muslim League, RSP, DMK, National Conference and Left parties too were present in the virtual meeting that also saw the presence of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Samajwadi Party too skipped this meeting. SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, however, wrote a letter and expressed his inability to join the meeting as he was in the interior of the State.
Among those present were West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.
Later, the Opposition leaders announced for joint protests all over the country from September 20-30. The forms of these public protest actions will be decided by the respective State units of participating parties depending on the concrete conditions of the Covid regulations and protocols existing in the State. These forms, amongst others, may include dharnas, protest demonstrations, hartals etc.
In a joint statement, the leaders of 19 Opposition Parties, called upon the citizens to rise to the occasion to defend country’s secular, democratic Republican order with all our might. “Save India today, so that we can change it for a better tomorrow,” the Opposition leaders stated.
Speaking about not being invited by the Congress, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “There should be Opposition unity. Now, we don’t even get an invitation (from Centre) on August 15 and January 26. So, neither the BJP invites us, nor the Congress.”
The meeting chaired by Sonia follows the breakfast meeting hosted by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi when Parliament was in session. Prior to that, while Mamata went around meeting Opposition leaders in Delhi in a bid to put up a united front, the Opposition went into a huddle at the insistence of Sharad Pawar too. Recently, Congress leader Kapil Sibal had also thrown a dinner on August 9 which was attended by several top Opposition leaders. However, the Gandhis were not issued an invite for it.
Besides forging an Opposition unity, the Sonia-chaired meeting is also being seen as a move to reassert the Congress’ first family’s central role in any Opposition initiative against the BJP and the Modi Government.
During her opening speech, Sonia told the Opposition leaders that they had jointly written to the Prime Minister on the vaccination strategy to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, on the repeal of the three anti-farmer laws and on the free distribution of food-grains to the needy.
She said that some crucial changes were introduced to the procurement system, following our intervention. “Needless to say, as always, somebody else has taken the credit. This does not matter really, as long as the people of the country have benefitted,” added the Congress President.
“The recent Monsoon Session of Parliament was a complete washout due to the Government’s obstinate and arrogant unwillingness to discuss and debate urgent issues of public importance,” she said.
The Congress President also said that she repeatedly asked the Centre to look into certain matters, including the Pegasus snooping scandal, which affects each and every citizen, repeal of the three anti-farmer laws, the price rise of essential commodities and the continuing assault on federalism and the institutions of our democracy.
“In spite of this, the session was marked by the determined unity that all Opposition parties demonstrated for over twenty days in both the Houses,” she said.
The joint statement said Parliament witnessed unprecedented scenes where MPs, including women MPs, were injured by Marshalls deployed to disrupt Opposition protests. Apart from denying the Opposition their right to raise crucial issues concerning the country and the people, the Government steamrolled legislations through the din of the disruption caused by its handling of both Houses of Parliament.
They also attacked the Prime Minister for his Independence Day address which they alleged did not focus on a single-issue concerning people’s miseries.