Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Heeding a call from the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, several leaders of the non-BJP parties have agreed to rise above their local political compulsions and set aside their personal interests to unite against the ruling BJP. At a virtual meeting called by the Congress on Friday evening, which was attended by the leaders or representatives of 19 non-BJP parties including several ruling parties in various states, Gandhi urged the opposition to “plan systematically” for the 2024 national election and work together, stressing that there was no other option. “We all have our compulsions, but clearly, a time has come when the interests of our nation demand that we rise above them,” she said at the 19-party meet.
Amidst efforts to evolve a common strategy to take on the BJP in the Parliamentary elections and the elections to several key states preceding the 2024 polls, Gandhi said though the ultimate goal was the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the opposition parties would “have to begin planning systematically with the objective of giving to our country a government that believes in the values of the Freedom Movement and in the principles and provisions of our Constitution”.
The 2024 polls is “the ultimate goal”, said Sonia Gandhi, adding: “This is a challenge, but together we can and must rise to it because there is simply no alternative to working cohesively together.”
She called upon opposition parties to begin to plan “with the single-minded objective of giving to our country a government that believes in the values of the Freedom Movement and in the principles and provisions of our Constitution.”
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and Left leader Sitaram Yechury, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, LJD’s Sharad Yadav, were among those who attended the meeting. However, no one from SP joined the meeting.
The parties later put out a joint statement with demands ranging from restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir to a Supreme Court-monitored inquiry into the Pegasus snooping allegations and changes to the vaccination strategy.
Mamata Banerjee emphasized that every opposition party should be included in such meetings, “even those not allied with Congress. Forget who is the leader, let’s keep our personal interests aside,” she said amid intense speculation about who will lead the opposition in a fight against the BJP.
Her comments were linked to notable absentees in today’s interaction. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav RSVP-ed (and sent a statement) while Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati was not invited, which straightaway blunts any unity talk when it comes to the country’s most politically vital state, Uttar Pradesh. Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, and the Akali Dal were also omitted from the guest list.
Perhaps acknowledging the skepticism about the Congress’s ability to headline any opposition battle-plan, Sonia Gandhi said her party “will not be found wanting.”
Friday’s meeting takes off from recent opposition huddles and the unprecedented display of unity in the monsoon session, which saw opposition parties united taking on the government over issues like the Pegasus snooping scandal, rising fuel prices and the farmers’ agitation over three central laws. Sonia Gandhi praised the “determined unity” but reminded that “the larger political battle has to be fought outside it.”
Sharad Pawar, a skilled negotiator of coalitions and disparate fronts, said: “Those who believe in democracy and secularism and those who want to save the democratic principles of our country, they should come together. That’s my call.”
In her opening remark, Sonia Gandhi blamed the government’s “obstinate and arrogant unwillingness to discuss and debate urgent issues of public importance” for Parliament’s complete washout. “In spite of this, the session was marked by the determined unity that all Opposition parties demonstrated for over twenty days in both the houses. We functioned in a coordinated manner with daily discussions among our floor leaders,” she said.
“I am confident that this unity will be sustained in the future sessions of Parliament as well, but the larger political battle has to be fought outside it,” Gandhi said.
She claimed that it was entirely due to the Opposition parties that the Constitution (127th Amendment) Bill was passed to restore the long-standing rights of the states to identify and notify the other backward classes (OBCs).
The Congress chief blamed the government, saying the bill was required to rectify the mistake it committed three years ago and a subsequent ruling of the Supreme Court. She also said after their intervention, crucial changes were made in the policy of procurement of Covid vaccines, but as always, someone else has taken the credit.
Gandhi said Pawar has raised with the government the issue of creation of the Ministry of Cooperation, which is a blatant interference in the constitutional rights and responsibilities of the states.
Mamata Banerjee proposed to form a core group of opposition leaders to decide on joint movements against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Virtually attending the meeting, the Trinamool Congress supremo asked the opposition leaders to keep aside differences and put up a united fight against the saffron party.
“Let us forget who is the leader, let us keep our personal interests aside. Every opposition party should be brought in. People are the leader. Let us set up a core group and work together to decide on the next line of action and programmes,” a senior TMC leader quoted her as saying.
Banerjee also raised the issue of how “impartial institutions like the NHRC has been misused by the central government to malign opposition ruled state governments”. She also raised the farmers’ issue and torture allegedly unleashed by the Centre against states ruled by opposition parties.
It also comes in the backdrop of the government demanding strict action against those who indulged in unruly behaviour in the Rajya Sabha. Interestingly, this meeting was held close on the heels of a similar dinner meet hosted by Congress leader Kapil Sibal, one from the Group of 23 which have been seeking sweeping changes in the party. In this meeting, top opposition leaders favoured unity among like-minded parties to defeat the BJP.
In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the Opposition parties said they would jointly organise protests all over the country from September 20-30. “The forms of these public protest actions will be decided by the respective state units of our parties, depending on the concrete conditions of the Covid regulations and protocols existing in the states. These forms, amongst others, may include dharnas, protest demonstrations, hartals etc.
“We, the leaders of 19 Opposition parties, call upon the people of India to rise to the occasion to defend our secular, democratic, republican order with all our might. Save India today, so that we can change it for a better tomorrow,” they added.
