Opposition meet: Nitish calls for unity; next meeting in Shimla in July

Opposition parties agree to fight the BJP together in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections; Rahul Gandhi said that the voice of India is being attacked by the BJP-RSS and we are together against it

The next Opposition meet will be held on July 12 in Shimla and will be chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addressing the media after the meet.

Kumar said that after the Opposition meet, 17 parties have decided to collectively chalk out a plan to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Opposition is the fight of ideologies. "The institutions and voices of India are being attacked by the BJP-RSS. I said in the meeting that this is a battle of ideologies and we are together against it. The Opposition unity is a process and we will take deep concerns into consideration."

 

Expressing similar concerns, former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah said that this is not a fight for power but for values and ideology.

"From Jammu and Kashmir to Kanyakumari, every like-minded party participated in the meeting. It is not the fight for power but for values and ideology."

During the address, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that if anybody goes against the BJP, they "have to face the ED and the CBI".

She said the atrocities of the BJP cannot be tolerated anymore.  "The BJP is controlling the media and they send lawyers to court and get cases filed against us under central agencies," she added.

Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti said that the "Opposition will not allow Gandhi's country to turn into Godse's country."

She said that the Indian Constitution, democracy, and secularism are under attack in the country.

At the meeting, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray said that the Opposition will continue to oppose anyone against the country's democratic values.

"I don't consider myself as Opposition, but we'll all oppose anyone who tries to establish dictatorship in India," he said

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president and former railway Minister Lalu Yadav said that the "BJP has been fighting in the name of Hanuman but now Hanumanji is with us."

We are sure that the BJP will face massive defeat in the upcoming polls, he added.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal skipped the meet over not getting the support of Congress on Delhi ordinance issue.