Opposition meeting: Nitish Kumar’s ambitious meeting of key opposition parties concluded on Friday in Bihar’s capital Patna. Leaders from 15-plus political parties including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi of Congress, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee from Trinamool Congress, and Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party sat together to find a way to tackle Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance in upcoming 2024 general elections. 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM  Bhagwant Mann, former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti also participated in the meeting. 

Congress, AAP on same table for first time

Amid the ongoing tussle between the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party over the Centre ordinance which barred Kejriwal’s government to control bureaucracy in the national capital and after AAP defeated Congress in Punjab, leaders of both parties sat together for the first time.   

After the Union government brought Ordinance to nullify a Supreme Court verdict allowing the elected government of Delhi (Union Territory) to fully control the services matters including transfers of civil servants, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal sought support from all major opposition parties including Congress to oppose the ordinance in Rajya Sabha, if centre bring it as a bill. 

Parties like JDU, RJD, DMK, BRS, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP, and JMM extended their support to AAP after Arvind Kejriwal visited the chiefs of the given parties. But, Congress has not clarified its stand yet on Kejriwal’s demand. 

Opposition Meet is mere Photo session: BJP

Union Home Minister Amit Shah hit out at the Opposition meeting in Patna saying that the same is just for the ‘photo session’ and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will return to the power in 2024.

Taking a jibe at the Opposition meeting, the home minister said, “Today a photo session is underway in Patna. They (opposition) want to challenge PM Modi and NDA. I want to tell them that in 2024 PM Modi will become PM by winning more than 300 seats.”

Minister shah asserted that the Narendra Modi government should return to power as there is no corruption cases against them, whereas the Congress was involved in a scam of Rs 12 lakh crore.

The union minister stressed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ended terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, while targeting PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah.

Also Read: ‘Just a Photo Session,’ Amit Shah, BJP leaders take dig at Opposition meeting