Lagatar24 Desk
Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi today chaired a virtual meeting of the leaders of Opposition parties leaders amid efforts to evolve a common strategy against the ruling BJP-led NDA government ahead of several key state elections and 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Stating that the ultimate goal is the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress president underlined that opposition parties “have to begin planning systematically with the objective of giving to our country a government that believes in the values of the Freedom Movement and in the principles and provisions of our Constitution”.
Apart from Congress, representatives of 18 Opposition parties attended the meeting. It also witnessed the participation of chief ministers of four states— Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), and Hemant Soren (Jharkhand).
In her opening remark, Sonia Gandhi blamed the government’s “obstinate and arrogant unwillingness to discuss and debate urgent issues of public importance” for Parliament’s complete washout. “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. We functioned in a coordinated manner with daily discussions among our floor leaders,” she said.
The Opposition unity was on display during the recently-concluded Monsoon session of Parliament when they took on the government to seek a discussion on the Pegasus snooping row, besides the farm laws and other issues.
The Congress chief also pointed out that it was entirely due to the Opposition parties that the Constitutional Amendment Bill was passed to restore the rights of states to identify and notify OBCs.
She also expressed confidence in such opposition unity in upcoming Parliament sessions, but added that the larger political battle has to be fought outside it.
Other key leaders who attended today’s meeting include National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, NCP’s Sharad Pawar, LJD’s Sharad Yadav, and CPM’s Sitaram Yechury. However, no one from SP joined the meeting.
It also comes in the backdrop of the government demanding strict action against those who indulged in unruly behaviour in the Rajya Sabha during the passage of the Insurance Amendment Bill.
Interestingly, this meeting was held close on the heels of a similar dinner meet hosted by Congress leader Kapil Sibal, one from the Group of 23 which have been seeking sweeping changes in the party. In this meeting, top opposition leaders favoured unity among like-minded parties to defeat the BJP.
