As Opposition parties met in Patna, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expressed derision with Union Home Minister Amit Shah calling the meet a “photo session” and BJP MP Sushil Modi calling it a “gathbandhan (alliance) of thugs”.

Posters mocking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as ‘real-life Devdas’ were also put up outside BJP’s office in Patna.

A galaxy of Opposition leaders have gathered in Patna for an Opposition meet, a significant display of multi-party unity against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Also Read: Opposition Patna meet LIVE updates

While addressing a rally in Jammu, Amit Shah said, “Today, a photo session is underway in Patna. All opposition leaders are gathering at one place. They want to send the message that they will challenge the NDA, BJP and PM Modi. I want to tell them that join as many hands as you want, your unity is never going to be a possibility.”

“It is already decided that Modi will become Prime Minister in 2024 by winning more than 300 seats. Their unity is nearly impossible and they will face drubbing in the next Lok Sabha polls,” the Home minister added.

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Training guns at the Opposition conclave, BJP MP Sushil Modi said, “Sitting together for tea does not mean that the Opposition is united. This is a ‘Gathbandhan of Thugs’. They are preparing to fool the country. They have no principle or policy and all are involved in corruption.”

Asking who will lead the bloc of Opposition parties in their battle against the BJP, former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Nitish Kumar 2024 ke liye baaraat saja rahe hai Patna mai, baaraat me to dulha bhi hota hai, par is baaraat ka dulha kon hai? (Nitish Kumar is decorating the wedding procession for the 2024 elections in Patna, but who is the groom (PM contender). Everyone is calling themself a PM contender.”

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BJP chief JP Nadda also took a jibe at the Opposition meeting and said, “Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother Indira Gandhi had put Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar in jail but today they are welcoming Rahul Gandhi in Patna. I wonder as to what has happened in politics.”

Union minister Smriti Irani thanked the Congress for the mega opposition meet in Patna and said it is a public declaration that the Congress can’t defeat PM Modi alone.

“It is ridiculous that leaders who saw the murder of democracy during the Emergency are today coming together under the leadership of the Congress. It is also ridiculous that these people are coming together sending the message to the country that they can not fight Modiji alone. I want to thank the Congress for making it public that the Congress can’t defeat PM Modi alone and they need help,” Smriti Irani said.

Around 18 Opposition parties, including the AAP, Congress, and TMC are attending the joint meeting organised by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The discussions are expected to set the stage for the formation of a unified front against the BJP for the 2024 general elections.