Congress vs AAP: The mega Opposition meeting took place on Friday in Patna that lasted for around four hours. Several opposition leaders gathered in Patna for a crucial meeting aimed at establishing unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hosted the meeting, which includes the participation of various political parties such as Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (UBT), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Samajwadi Party (SP), National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), CPI, CPM, CPI ML, Janata Dal United (JDU), and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
The issue that came to in the meeting, apart from a roadmap to defeat the BJP, was Congress's stand on the Centre's ordinance on Delhi.
‘Will not back anything that is unconstitutional’
During the meeting, Congress chairperson Mallikarjun Kharge said that the party will not back anything that is unconstitutional the sources said. He said his party has a set mechanism for taking up issues and the announcement on it will be done at a later date, according to the sources.
As per the sources, at no point did Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal threaten to walk out of the meeting. The sources also said that all the opposition party members in attendance sided with the Congress and stated that the party's line on the issue was a "reasonable" one.
Sort out over tea and biscuits
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was also observing a day-long fast, was concerned that the debate over the ordinance would sidetrack the discussions. She reportedly stepped in when AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal insisted that Congress make a statement at the conclusion of the meeting declaring its support for AAP on the matter.
Banerjee intervened and asked both AAP and Congress to sort out their differences on the Delhi ordinance issue over tea and biscuits at a later date. She also said that the Patna opposition meeting was not the ideal forum for such discussion. "Incidentally, the West Bengal chief minister was sitting almost equidistant from Kejriwal and Gandhi. When the issue became heated, she intervened and asked them to have tea and biscuits. She said a lot of things can be resolved over a good cup of tea and biscuits," said the source.
During her address at the meeting, Banerjee said it was important for all parties to ensure support for the Congress wherever the party was the strongest. She said the BJP will be fighting not the opposition but the people of India.
However, Rahul Gandhi did not raise the ordinance issue in his speech. Gandhi asserted that he was attending the meeting with a clean slate "without any memory of past likes or dislikes with any of the parties in attendance". He also said he and his party would do anything to keep the opposition together. Gandhi suggested that the Opposition would have to break the financial, institutional and constitutional monopoly of the BJP to defeat them.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad was given a rousing welcome by the opposition party leaders as he started his speech as the second speaker. He suggested that for the 2024 general elections, the opposition fight should be led by the biggest party in each state. Requesting the Congress to be large-hearted, he appreciated the party's gesture to speak last after hearing everyone else.
Host and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was the first to speak, said while 15 opposition parties were in attendance, at least 10 more will be joining the ranks soon.
‘Nation first, party second’
Kejriwal said for the 2024 elections, the motto should be "nation first, party second." He said when parties give up seats for their opposition partners, their victory should be victory for the united front. He also said this was no time for expansion for parties and the focus should not just be the election, but the agreement of issues.
Referring to alliances to be formed by the opposition, DMK's MK Stalin said every state will have a different pattern of understanding between the parties, a view seconded by NC leader Omar Abdullah who also said while one-to-one battles with the BJP may not be possible on all seats, different ways of seat sharing options can be worked out.
The opposition parties all agreed that they will not have a prime ministerial face as of now. Both Shiv Sena's (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray and Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav outlined the spirit of the Opposition parties as they saw it, during their addresses.
While Thackeray referred to the Opposition as "deshpremi" (patriots) and "prajatantra premi" (lovers of democracy), Yadav said in Hindi, "To create a big forum, you need a big heart." The JMM suggested that the Opposition should not just focus on the 2024 polls, but also on the five upcoming assembly elections. CPIM's Sitaram Yechury also asked the leaders to issues related to hardships being felt by the people.
The sources said that all the leaders agreed that the Opposition parties now must corner the government on Manipur and expressed fear that the state could "turn into another Jammu and Kashmir". The next Opposition meeting will be held in the second week of July in Shimla, followed by another in one of the southern states, the sources said.
