Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 5: The third meeting of the newly formed “Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance” (INDIA) of the like-minded non-BJP parties will be held in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1, it was official announced on Saturday.
While the meeting to be held in Mumbai was announced at the end of the second conclave in Bengaluru last month, the states were not announced then. The Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena announced the dates after a meeting of the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Mumbai on Saturday.
The announcement comes a day after the Supreme Court paved the way for the restoration of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s status as an MP, and the party said the meeting will assume greater importance because of that.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, “At least five chief ministers will be attending the opposition meeting, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt. Rahul Gandhi will also be present. The meeting will begin on August 31 and a dinner will be organised that evening, which will be hosted by Uddhav Thackeray.”
Congress Maharashtra chief Nana Patole said several important proposals will be considered during the meeting. “The Supreme Court has given an order in Rahul Gandhi’s defamation case. The truth has won and the meeting will have greater importance because of that,” he said.
The first mega gathering of 16 opposition parties had taken place in Patna on June 23 and it was followed by a meeting of 26 parties in Bengaluru on July 17-18 where the INDIA name was coined. After the Bengaluru meeting, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had said an 11-member coordination committee would be set up for the alliance and a convenor would be named at the next gathering.
Rahul Gandhi had met Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav over dinner on Friday in the presence of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and the way forward for the INDIA coalition was also discussed, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Congress MP Jairam Ramesh questioned the “delay” in restoring the Lok Sabha membership of Gandhi after the Supreme Court’s verdict compared to the speed with which he was disqualified when he was convicted by the Surat magisterial court.
Demanding immediate restoration of his membership, Jairam Ramesh wrote, “26 hours after @RahulGandhi was “convicted” by the Sessions Court in Surat, the notification of his disqualification as MP was issued. 26 hours have passed since the Supreme Court stayed his wholly unjustified conviction. Why hasn’t his position as MP been restored yet? Is the Prime Minister afraid of his participation in the No Confidence Motion?” Ramesh posted on social media.
Earlier in the day, the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he called up Speaker Om Birla last night, seeking urgent restoration of Gandhi’s membership. The Congress MP claimed he called Speaker once again on Saturday morning, who told him to speak to secretary general and submit the documents to the office.
“I called up the Secretary-General who said his office is closed today and told me to submit the letter to the Speaker…I sent the letter by post. They signed the letter but did not stamp it. The House should function and Rahul Gandhi comes back there. When he has been granted relief by the Court, we are requesting the Speaker to see that he faces no issue in coming back,” Chowdhury said.
On Friday, a three-judge top court bench stayed Gandhi’s disqualification in a 2019 defamation case filed by Gujarat BJP MLA Purnesh Modi over the ex-Congress chief’s “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” dig during a poll rally in Karnataka.