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Leaders focus on seat-sharing, a joint fight and campaign
At INDIA bloc meeting, Rahul Gandhi underlined that the alliance represents 60% of the country’s population
Mumbai: The leaders of the INDIA bloc reminded each other of impending tasks, spoke about the general elections campaign and criticised the Narendra Modi government in Mumbai on Friday. Here’s what some key leaders said.
Rahul Gandhi: The Congress leader maintained that “the task” before INDIA was “to unite in the most effective way possible”. He underlined that the Opposition bloc represents 60% of the country’s population. “If parties on this stage unite, it is impossible for the BJP to win.”
He also referred to fresh allegations against the Adani Group to target the BJP. “The PM and BJP are a nexus of corruption. The idea behind the Modi government is to extract money from the poor and transfer to a limited few,” Gandhi alleged.
He also offered glimpses into the campaign plan of the alliance. “We will propose a clear set of ideas to benefit farmers and poor people,” Gandhi said, emphasising on unity. “The real work in this alliance is the relationship forged between the leaders. I can say, the two meetings have done a huge thing to build rapport.”
Lalu Prasad: The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader pointed out that the lack of Opposition unity benefitted PM Modi in the past. “We were not together. We could not put common candidates in each seat, and Modi took advantage. Minorities are not safe...We have come to a conclusion and an organisation has been formed,” Prasad said.
In his inimitable way, Prasad joked that Modi should be sent to the sun. “No Opposition leader was spared from ED and CBI,” he said, adding that though he underwent a number of surgeries, he won’t die before removing Modi from power.
Uddhav Thackeray: The former Maharashtra chief minister recalled how, when opposition parties were getting united, he said they were not just Opposition. “We are not opposition parties. We are all patriots. Everyone knows who is opposed to India. We will also fight against Adani.”
Thackeray spoke about the upcoming special session of Parliament and said, “Now a (Parliament) session has been called. No one knows what will happen now? But I want to tell everyone don’t be afraid”
Mallikarjun Kharge: The Congress chief hit out at the Modi government and said the ₹200 relief on cooking gas came after several rounds of price hikes. “Modi always hikes ₹100 and then reduces only ₹2. Petrol and LPG prices have doubled but he has only cut prices by ₹200. Modi never works for the poor because his policy has always been to work closely with big industrialists.”
Kharge announced that for the benefit of the poor, the INDIA must win. “We will go to all state capitals to campaign,” he said, attacking the government. “Why didn’t Modi call a special session on Manipur, Covid or China? Whenever he was in trouble, he never called a special session,” Kharge alleged.
Arvind Kejriwal: The Delhi CM, who insisted at the informal meeting on Wednesday that the seat sharing talks must be completed soon, said the INDIA bloc was an alliance of 1.4 billion people. “Big forces are trying to break INDIA. It will be forcibly shown that we are fighting against each other. No one fought with the other. No one has come for any post,”he said.
Kejriwal dubbed the ruling dispensation as the most corrupt and arrogant.
“The government of India is working for one person. That person is taking money away from India. Our young people are looking for employment but the entire government is working for one person,” he said.
Nitish Kumar: The Bihar CM announced that the bloc will campaign across states. “With these parties coming together, the person who is in power will be defeated. He works less but campaigns more. If anyone wants to change the history of India, we will not allow it. Our aim is to uplift all sections of the society. Now there is no guarantee, election can happen anytime. We have to remain alert. And we have completed our preparations,” he said.
Sitaram Yechury: The Left leader announced that an understanding was reached and on its basis, seat-sharing talks will start at state level. “But seat sharing might vary from state to state. We are here to save the character of the Indian republic, to save the Constitution and democracy.”
