Patna opposition rally: Mallikarjun Kharge said the next rally would be on July 10 or 12.
Patna:
All parties have agreed to hold elections together, but another meeting will be held next month in Shimla in Himachal Pradesh to finalize the details, said Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who hosted the major opposition rally of 16 parties, shortly after the four-hour meeting. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK head MK Stalin were absent from the joint press conference, though Kumar claimed they left because they had to rush for their flight back.
Even during the press conference projecting unity, the Aam Aadmi Party dropped a bombshell and said it will not be a part of any future opposition rallies until the Congress publicly opposes the controversial ordinance of the Center that will take control of the Delhi government on administrative services.
According to sources, there were sharp exchanges between Congress and the Aam Aadmi party during the meeting. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal sought the stance of the big old party on the ordinance issue, while Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge advanced AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar’s allegation that the Congress is not taking a position because of a deal with the BJP. Ms Kakkar told NewsMadura minutes before the meeting that they have come to know from reliable sources that “there is a consensus between Congress and BJP” and therefore Congress is not opposed to the ordinance.
“Details, including details of seat distribution and party split, will be finalized at the Shimla meeting,” Nitish Kumar said at the joint press conference.
Congress Chairman Mallikarjun Kharge said the next meeting will tentatively be held on July 10 or 12, when the strategy for all states will be discussed.
“We must fight together against the 2024 elections. We have decided to kick out the BJP and are confident that we can form the next government,” said Kharge.
Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of alleged attack on democratic institutions. “It’s a battle of ideologies. We may have some differences, but have decided to work together flexibly to protect our ideology. This is a process and we will continue with it,” he said.
Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress Chief also claimed that the parties present would fight as one.
“What starts at Patna becomes one John Andolan (public movement),’ Ms Banerjee said, referring to the iconic JP movement during the emergency. She went on to say that meetings in Delhi did not produce results.
“Three things are resolved: we are united, we will fight united, and our struggle should not be branded as the struggle of the opposition, but rather as a struggle against the BJP dictatorship and their black laws and fight against their political vendetta said Mrs Banerjee. .
“Raj Bhavan has become an alternative government. They organized Foundation Day for our state without consulting us. If we oppose that, ED and CBI will be used against us. They will send lawyers to court and involve us in some case, but they don’t talk about unemployment, ordinary people, or the destruction of the economy, atrocities against Dalit, or violence against women, they don’t give money for Awas (housing) or weigh and recruit people in universities according to their whims and fantasies,” she added, claiming that the country will not see new elections if the BJP returns to power.
“Let our blood flow, if necessary. But we will protect our people … BJP wants history to be changed, but history will be saved from Bihar,” said Mamata Banerjee.
Mehbooba Mufti, head of the People’s Democratic Party of Jammu and Kashmir, said that things that happened in Jammu and Kashmir are now happening in the rest of India. “The way people are treated, especially the minorities, we don’t want Gandhi’s Nation to turn into Godse’s,” she said.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said 17 parties from Kashmir to Kanyakumari have come together not for power, but for principles.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray said that despite ideological differences, the parties have vowed to defend the country against anyone attempting to attack democratic values. “I really believe that if the start is good, good things will happen,” he said.
D Raja of the CPI called the nine years of the BJP “disastrous for the nation”. The country’s people are suffering and the federal system of government is under attack, he said.
“We must retake the Republic. We are convinced that the BJP must be defeated,” Raja added.
