Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has dialled three top Opposition leaders – Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray – in an attempt to build on the strong sense of unity between 19 opposition parties during the recently concluded budget session of Parliament.
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A Congress leader close to Kharge said that the party chief spoke to Stalin, Kumar and Thackeray in the past two days on the current political situation and the urgent need to build up stronger unity among key Opposition constituents. The leaders also discussed the prospects of a meeting of Opposition parties.
The Congress is an ally of Stalin’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu and Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) in Bihar. The party is also a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance with Thackeray’s faction of the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party.
The leader cited above, who did not wish to be named, said the Congress will soon call a meeting of opposition party leaders in Delhi. On March 27, Kharge had hosted a dinner for Opposition floor leaders of 18 parties. Uddhav had skipped this dinner.
{{/usCountry}}The leader cited above, who did not wish to be named, said the Congress will soon call a meeting of opposition party leaders in Delhi. On March 27, Kharge had hosted a dinner for Opposition floor leaders of 18 parties. Uddhav had skipped this dinner.
{{/usCountry}}“The Opposition unity is a work in progress. Kharge had a discussion with the three leaders. He will also talk to other parties,” the Congress leader cited above said.
Kharge’s talks with Kumar, Stalin and Thackeray assume significance as the Bihar chief minister asked the Congress in February to take the lead and form a formal alliance. “If you listen to me, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not get 100 seats,” Kumar had told the Congress at a meeting.
Stalin, too, took the initiative and chaired a meeting last Monday on social justice, which saw the participation of 19 Opposition parties.
The Congress president’s call to Thackeray signals the principal opposition party’s willingness to continue its alliance with Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), days after the latter expressed its reservations about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comments on VD Savarkar.
Gandhi, while fending off questions about whether he will apologise for his remarks on the Modi surname and comments in the UK, had said on March 25, “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone.”
The comment kicked up a row with Thackeray skipping the March 27 dinner and saying it would open cracks in the opposition alliance.
A second senior Congress leader said that at the meeting on March 27, at least three Opposition members asked Kharge to call a meeting of the party leaders to take the unity forward.
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Nineteen Opposition parties have already decided to take their fight against the government outside Parliament, through meetings and joint programmes. During the second half of the Budget Session, at least 16 parties disrupted proceedings, seeking a probe by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on allegations of fraud and stock manipulation against the Adani Group. The conglomerate has denied the charges.
“It has also been decided that the Opposition parties will call for a broadest possible secular democratic understanding, with an eye on the 2024 elections,” the second senior leader said, seeking anonymity. “Kharge’s calls can also be seen in this context.”