Next Opposition meet to be held on July 17-18 in Bengaluru, says Congress

In the first Opposition meeting in Patna on June 23, over 32 leaders of Opposition parties resolved to take on the BJP unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections

The Congress on Monday announced that the next Opposition meeting will be held in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18.

The party said that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar’s rebellion won’t impact the Opposition unity.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal tweeted: “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 said that Ajit Pawar’s rebellion is “not going to affect Opposition unity” as this is just “NCP’s issue”. He said that the allegations of corruption against the NCP leaders have resulted in the “drama” unfolding in Maharashtra, adding that “it is a clear sponsored game of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and their agencies”, according to a report in The Indian Express.

 

He also said that “Sharad Pawar is the tallest leader of the party and he will be able to handle the situation”.

After the first meeting, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the second meeting will be held on July 12 in Shimla and it will be chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

However, Sharad Pawar later said that the next Opposition meeting will be held in Bengaluru on July 13-14, but the dates were said to be clashing with the Assembly sessions in some states.

The first meeting of Opposition parties was held in Patna on June 23, where 32 leaders from 15 parties had backed unity to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.