 "Sonia, Mamata to share stage against Modi")
The event will be significant for the Congress and Trinamool Congress leaderships cementing their proximity that was achieved during the winter session of Parliament. The Congress and Left parties had a seat adjustment in the Bengal assembly polls in May 2016.
Congress, as well as Trinamool Congress leaders, said that Communist Party of India (Marxist) deciding to stay away from the joint press conference had more to do with its regional political compulsions than a sign of cracks in opposition unity. The Trinamool and CPI(M) are rivals in Bengal. Similarly, the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party are unlikely to attend given their rivalry in UP. The press conference is scheduled for 3pm.
Others likely to attend are Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Nationalist Congress Party's DP Tripathi. Neither of Janata Dal (United)'s two preeminent leaders, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Rajya Sabha member Sharad Yadav, are likely to attend. But party sources said this was because both had previously decided events to attend outside Delhi.
However, Communist Party of India (Marxist) chief Sitaram Yechury said his party will stay away from the press conference of opposition parties that the Congress has convened because of "lack of coordination and consultation" among the participants of the agenda of the meeting.
According to Congress sources, the effort is to agree on a common opposition agenda for the Budget session of Parliament, scheduled to begin in January end on the issues of demonetization and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's charges of "personal corruption" against the PM.
At the joint press conference, Sonia Gandhi and Banerjee are likely to raise the issue of the impact of demonetisation. They are likely to point out that four out of five villages in India do not have banking facilities, that the share of counterfeit currency is a meagre 0.02 per cent of the currency and that 90 per cent of debit cards are used only to withdraw cash and not for purchases.
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The Bengal CM has done 200 tweets on the issue of 'note ban', and has been gathering information from each of the party's district units in Bengal on the impact of demonetization. The Congress will also try explain that its Vice President Rahul Gandhi's meeting with the PM at the end of the winter session of Parliament was in no way intended to dent opposition unity.
Today, Ramesh dismissed comparisons of Tuesday's event to the Congress "tea party" in 1998, that led to the fall of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The Congress will celebrate its foundation day on Wednesday. The party was founded on 28 December, 1885. It isn't known if Banerjee might be the chief guest at the event.
Another party leader said the conference was more akin to the 2003 conclave of the party in Shimla, where the party pitched for a unity of secular forces to oust the Vajpayee government.
On the eve of deliberations, Rahul Gandhi today held a meeting of all Congress general secretaries and State Congress presidents at his residence to assess the current political situation. He also addressed a public rally in Rajasthan in the afternoon. Rahul Gandhi said the problems from 'note ban' will not end on 30 December, but hardships will last at least for six to seven months.
The Congress will hold protests across the country on demonetisation and demand that the PM come clean on allegations of "personal corruption" from January 5.