On Saturday, as the Congress Working Committee (CWC) met, demanding that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act be withdrawn and the process of NPR be stopped forthwith, former party president Rahul Gandhi was conspicuous in his absence. Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, top party leaders P. Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, A.K. Antony, K.C. Venugopal, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia were all among those present. The Congress released a statement on the four main issues that were discussed—the CAA, NRC, NPR and students protests; the state of the economy; the situation prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir; and the US-Iran tensions.
The absence of Gandhi led to a flurry of speculation about whether he would attend the Congress-led opposition meet on Monday against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
But, come Monday, Gandhi was among those in the opposition ranks as they converged against the CAA. The meeting convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi was attended by leaders of opposition parties like NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, LJD chief Sharad Yadav, Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D. Raja, besides Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was also present.
BSP, AAP and TMC, however, stayed away.
Sources said the top opposition leaders have already held discussions among themselves and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad is leading the efforts.
The opposition is seeking to win over the youth and the students by supporting their protests against the amended citizenship law and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The sources said the Congress and other parties are seeking to take the students' movement forward and have lent support to their cause.
