Ahead of the last full fledged session of the Parliament before the Lok Sabha polls, as many as 21 opposition parties on Monday met to discuss ways to have a coordinated approach both inside and outside the Parliament to take on the Narendra Modi government and the BJP.
However, the meeting, supposed to be a show of strength in the run up to Lok Sabha polls, fell short of the intended purpose as Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, the two key players from the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, stayed away.
In an effort piloted by Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, with the Congress and the CPI(M) also playing an important role in forming an anti-Modi front, the purpose of the meet was to draft a coordinated approach in taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, and work on a plan for an alliance for the general elections.
The discussions were dominated by the issue of the BJP and the Modi regime's attack on institutions, and it was apt that in the middle of the meeting came the news of RBI Governor Urjit Patel's resignation. "There was consensus in the room that we have to stop the assault of the BJP on our institutions, from CBI to RBI, the assault on our Constitution," Congress president Rahul Gandhi said after the meeting.
He said the opposition parties will work together to defeat the BJP and the RSS, and work out a coordination both inside and outside the Parliament.
Asked about SP and BSP not attending the meeting, Gandhi said the process to bring together everybody had started. "Regardless of whether they are big or small, we respect everyone," he said.
Asked if a UK court's order for extradition of businessman Vijay Mallya was a victory for the Modi government, he said the issue was of Modi “handing over India's banking system to his friends”, from Mallya to Nirav Modi to Mehul Choksi. In the same vein, he also raised the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal.
TDP chief Naidu said it was a "historical" meeting to form an anti-BJP platform to save the democratic institutions. “Irrespective of our political compulsions, we have joined hands to protect our institutions,” he said.
Interestingly, AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also attended the meeting. This was the first time that Kejriwal was party to a joint opposition meeting. He was invited to the meeting by TDP chief Naidu. The Congress has in the past not been amenable to AAP being part of the opposition grouping.
Among those who attended the meeting were UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, DMK leaders M.K. Stalin and Kanimozhi, JD(S) leader H.D. Deve Gowda, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, LJD leader Sharad Yadav, National Conference's Farooq Abdullah and RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav.
The other parties which attended the meeting included RLD, JMM, JVM, Kerala Congress (Mani), Hindustan Awami Morcha, IUML, AIUDF and NPF.
