Opposition meeting: The next meeting of the Opposition parties, which was slated to be held on July 13 and 14, will now be held on 17 and 18 of this month, Congress announced on Monday (July 3), while stressing that the ‘Mumbai operations’ have ‘strengthened’ their resolve to defeat the BJP.
Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal made the announcement of the dates of the meeting.
“After a hugely successful All-Opposition meeting in Patna, we will be holding the next meeting in Bengaluru on 17 and 18 July, 2023. We are steadfast in our unwavering resolve to defeat the fascist and undemocratic forces and present a bold vision to take the country forward,” Venugopal tweeted.
Earlier, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar had said the next opposition meeting will be held in Bengaluru on July 13-14.
The first meeting of the Opposition was held on June 23 in Patna at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence in which over 15 political parties participated.
Jairam Ramesh takes dig at BJP
Congress general secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh while taking a jibe at the BJP calling yesterday’s developments in Maharashtra ‘Washing Machine’ said that it has ‘strengthened’ the Opposition’s resolve.
"Yesterday when the BJP Washing Machine restarted in Mumbai with its ICE (Income tax, CBI, ED) detergent, BJP-inspired obituaries on Opposition unity were being planted. The obit writers will be disappointed. The next meeting of the parties that met at Patna on June 23rd will be held in Bengaluru on July 17th & 18th. If anything the Mumbai operations have strengthened Opposition resolve," he said.
In a massive turn of events on Sunday in Maharashtra politics, Ajit Pawar joined the NDA government and was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister. Along with him, eight other MLAs from NCP were sworn in as Ministers.
TMC's leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien also tagged Venugopal's tweet and said, "Bengaluru Summit. All For One. One For All.”
What happened in June 23 meeting
The opposition parties on June 23 had decided that they will take the BJP head-on in the 2024 general elections at a grand meeting at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence in Patna. Following no outcome over the Congress’ support to the Centre’s ordinance against the Delhi government, AAP supremo who also attended the meeting left without attending the press meeting which took place shortly after the conclusion of the meeting.
The AAP had asserted that it would be difficult for it to be part of any such gathering in the future till Congress publicly supports it on the ordinance issue.
The leaders of over 15 political parties assembled in Patna in the meeting. The leaders who participated in the meeting included Congress president Mallikajun Kharge, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal among others.
(With PTI inputs)
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