Top leaders of about 20 Opposition parties — including the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) — are all set to share stage at a meeting hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna in a display of unity on Friday.
During the meeting, the Opposition leaders, many of them sparring with one another so far, would be identifying areas of consensus and unveiling a common action plan to jointly fight the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The issues that would feature in the common agenda of the Opposition are inflation, unemployment, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the issue of caste census in Bihar, PTI reported.
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Issues ranging from social justice to the alleged misuse of investigating agencies by the Centre to violence in Manipur, the wrestlers’ protest and even the Delhi ordinance, are also likely to be discussed in the opposition meeting, according to media reports.
As leaders of different Opposition parties, including PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, start reaching Patna, a large poster of Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar, who has called the key meet, was put up outside his party’s headquarters on Bir Chand Patel Path in the heart of the city.
The meeting will be held at the CM House on 1 Anney Marg. Banners and posters featuring the Opposition leaders have also sprung up at key points of the capital city.
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Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu CM and DMK president MK Stalin, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and ex-Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Delhi CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and SP president and ex-UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, among others, will be in attendance.
‘Goal to come out with a common minimum programme’
“The way several leaders from Opposition parties responded is a great indicator for the grand success of the Opposition meet in Patna. Our goal is to come out with a common minimum programme (CMP). We have crossed the first step towards our objective of taking on the BJP in a big way in the 2024 polls,” JD(U) chief spokesperson KC Tyagi told The Indian Express.
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However, as per media reports, some key Opposition parties are not comfortable with the idea of a CMP at this stage, when there are no formal seat pacts or alliances between the Opposition constituents at the national level. Also, three leaders argued that a CMP is usually inked after an election.
“We have decided on three things. The date, the venue and the heads of the opposition parties that will be attending the meeting. We will decide the date and venue of the next meeting on June 23. Beyond this, if anyone wants to jump the gun, it will not be advisable,” Trinamool Congress party’s Rajya Sabha leader, Derek O’Brien, said.
Kejriwal wants Delhi ordinance issue on agenda
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has shot off letters to top Opposition leaders asking them to take up the Delhi ordinance issue first on the agenda at the joint meeting in Patna this Friday.
Kejriwal, who has met at least ten Opposition leaders in the past month seeking support against the contentious ordinance giving control of the Delhi bureaucracy to the union government, said that every party should make its stand clear and discuss the way forward to defeat the ordinance in Parliament.