News Analysis India

Tag: Opposition leaders

  • BJP govt subverting democracy and Constitution: Opposition leaders

    New Delhi: In a show of strength and unity, the INDIA bloc came together at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday and blew the poll bugle for Lok Sabha elections with a scathing attack on Narendra Modi government, accusing it of subverting democracy and Constitution.

    All major Opposition leaders – Sonia Gandhi, son Rahul, daughter Priyanka, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Uddhav Thackerary, son Aditya, Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, Champai Soren – came together at ‘Loktantra Bachao Rally’ to press for the release of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand’s former CM Hemant Soren.

    Kejriwal’s March 21 arrest is the immediate trigger for the entire Opposition to come together, but the finer optics of the rally went far beyond. For starters, Trinamool Congress, which could not hammer out a seat-sharing pact with the Congress in West Bengal, came out strongly in support of the INDIA bloc, with leader Derek O’Brien stating that his party “was, is and will be with INDIA bloc”. Sonia, who has been keeping away from most public engagements, made a rare appearance and sat next to Kejriwal’s wife Sunita to show her support. Two chairs were kept empty on the stage for Kejriwal and Soren to emphasise that Opposition leaders’ arrest by central investigative agencies was the central point of the rally.The Opposition put forth following demands to the Election Commission of India: A level playing field before elections, efforts to forcefully scuttle Opposition parties’ finances should be immediately stopped, action by ED, CBI and the Income-Tax department should be stopped and a Supreme Court-monitored special investigation team should probe the electoral bonds scheme.

    Wife reads Kejriwal messageThe rally, which was organised by AAP to garner support for its jailed national convenor, saw emotions run high when Sunita carried a message from her husband and read it out. Striking an instant chord with the crowd, she said BJP wanted her husband to resign as CM and asked the crowd if he should. As supporters responded in the negative, Sunita said she believed her husband was a “lion” and “they won’t be able to keep him in jail for too long”. Her voice choked with emotion as she said that though her husband had not taken the permission of other INDIA bloc partners, he wanted to give six guarantees on behalf of the Opposition.

    The guarantees included 24×7 power across the country, free electricity to the poor, constructing excellent government schools in every village and neighbourhood, establishing mohalla clinic in every village, ensuring fair price for crops to farmers as given in Swaminathan Commission report and full statehood for Delhi.MODI trying to fix polls: RahulSenior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi warned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was desperately trying to “fix” elections, the way sometimes cricket matches are fixed. Pointing out the way cricket matches are fixed by various methods like appointing umpires of choice, buying out players and intimidating captains, same way Modi appointed election commissioners of his choice, was trying to pressurise judiciary and had jailed two chief ministers, Soren and Kejriwal, just ahead of elections. He said all bank accounts of Congress had been frozen right at the start of the election process in a clear attempt to prevent it from campaigning.

    Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray gave a catchy slogan to counter BJP’s call of “is baar chaar sau paar”. He said this time it should be “is baar BJP tadi paar” (throw out BJP this time). Tejashwi said the way BJP was showing confidence that it would cross 400, it seemed that it had already tampered with electronic voting machines (EVMs). The rally came on a day Modi flagged off BJP’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh, however, appeared confident. “I have heard that people from Delhi are outside today somewhere. This is an indication of the times to come. People will throw him out of Delhi very soon,” he said.

  • Ram Mandir consecration: Here’s how Opposition celebrated the event in their own style – The Economic Times Video

    On January 22, 2024, the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Pran Prathistha ceremony took place, which was a momentous occasion. While the event was being celebrated, opposition leaders commemorated it in their own way. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah inaugurated the newly constructed Ram Temple in Mahadevapura assembly, and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee conducted an all-faith harmony rally in Kolkata.

  • Oppn parties to meet at Kharge’s office in Parliament ahead of 2nd phase of Budget session on Monday

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Opposition leaders will hold a meeting on Monday morning to firm up their floor strategy for the second leg of the Budget session as they gear up to corner the government on issues such as alleged misuse of probe agencies and the Adani row.

    The opposition leaders are expected to meet at Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge’s office in the Parliament complex at around 10 am, sources said.

    The Congress MPs will gather at the Congress Parliamentary Party office before the meeting to deliberate on the party’s strategy, they said.

    The Congress is also set for a duel with the BJP over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in the UK over which the saffron party’s leaders have been continuously attacking the former AICC chief.

    Opposition parties are gearing up to corner the government on issues such as alleged misuse of probe agencies to target their leaders, allegations against the Adani Group, border standoff with China, price rise and unemployment.

    The Congress continues to demand a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the allegations related to the Adani Group.

    Congress MP K Suresh maintained that his party will continue to raise the Adani-Hindenburg issue as the government is yet to give a reply on the controversy.

    The focus, however, is on the alleged misuse of probe agencies with RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family facing the heat from central agencies in the alleged land-for-jobs scam.

    Parties such as the Samajwadi Party, Left parties and the DMK have also lodged strong protests against the alleged attack on the federal structure and the misuse of institutions.

    Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore has asserted that the Congress will strongly raise the issue of “misuse” of agencies.

    Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused the Narendra Modi government of making “sinister attempts to kill democracy” by misusing probe agencies against opposition leaders, as he slammed the Centre over the ED searches on the premises of Prasad’s family.

    The Budget session of Parliament, which began on January 31, is likely to conclude on April 6.

    Parliament is meeting after a month-long recess, which allows various parliamentary panels to scrutinise allocations made in the Union Budget for different ministries.

    The Trinamool Congress is set to raise in Parliament issues such as LIC and SBI’s risk exposure, price rise of essential commodities, unemployment and “misuse” of central agencies during the second phase of the session, its Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien had said recently.

    He had said LIC’s risk exposure and price rise affect the lives and savings of the common people and should be highlighted.

    The TMC will also raise the issue of “political vendetta” against non-BJP-ruled states in Parliament and also question the Union government on “holding back funds for schemes such as MGNREGA”, O’Brien said.

    The issue of LIC and SBI’s exposure to the Adani Group was raised by various opposition parties in the first leg of Parliament’s Budget session which saw multiple disruptions.

    NEW DELHI: Opposition leaders will hold a meeting on Monday morning to firm up their floor strategy for the second leg of the Budget session as they gear up to corner the government on issues such as alleged misuse of probe agencies and the Adani row.

    The opposition leaders are expected to meet at Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge’s office in the Parliament complex at around 10 am, sources said.

    The Congress MPs will gather at the Congress Parliamentary Party office before the meeting to deliberate on the party’s strategy, they said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The Congress is also set for a duel with the BJP over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in the UK over which the saffron party’s leaders have been continuously attacking the former AICC chief.

    Opposition parties are gearing up to corner the government on issues such as alleged misuse of probe agencies to target their leaders, allegations against the Adani Group, border standoff with China, price rise and unemployment.

    The Congress continues to demand a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the allegations related to the Adani Group.

    Congress MP K Suresh maintained that his party will continue to raise the Adani-Hindenburg issue as the government is yet to give a reply on the controversy.

    The focus, however, is on the alleged misuse of probe agencies with RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family facing the heat from central agencies in the alleged land-for-jobs scam.

    Parties such as the Samajwadi Party, Left parties and the DMK have also lodged strong protests against the alleged attack on the federal structure and the misuse of institutions.

    Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore has asserted that the Congress will strongly raise the issue of “misuse” of agencies.

    Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused the Narendra Modi government of making “sinister attempts to kill democracy” by misusing probe agencies against opposition leaders, as he slammed the Centre over the ED searches on the premises of Prasad’s family.

    The Budget session of Parliament, which began on January 31, is likely to conclude on April 6.

    Parliament is meeting after a month-long recess, which allows various parliamentary panels to scrutinise allocations made in the Union Budget for different ministries.

    The Trinamool Congress is set to raise in Parliament issues such as LIC and SBI’s risk exposure, price rise of essential commodities, unemployment and “misuse” of central agencies during the second phase of the session, its Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien had said recently.

    He had said LIC’s risk exposure and price rise affect the lives and savings of the common people and should be highlighted.

    The TMC will also raise the issue of “political vendetta” against non-BJP-ruled states in Parliament and also question the Union government on “holding back funds for schemes such as MGNREGA”, O’Brien said.

    The issue of LIC and SBI’s exposure to the Adani Group was raised by various opposition parties in the first leg of Parliament’s Budget session which saw multiple disruptions.

  • Presidential polls: Mamata invites 22 opposition leaders, CMs for meeting on June 15

    By Online Desk

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to opposition leaders, requesting them to attend a meeting on June 15 convened by her in New Delhi to prepare a joint strategy for the upcoming presidential poll.

    With the Presidential poll round the corner, Banerjee has reached out to the opposition CMs and leaders to participate in the joint meeting in the national capital, according to a statement issued by her party.

    The letter was addressed to 22 Opposition leaders including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.

    “Our hon’ble chairperson @MamataOfficial calls upon all progressive opposition forces to meet and deliberate on the future course of action keeping the Presidential elections in sight, at the Constitution Club, New Delhi on June 15 2022 at 3 PM,” Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress said.

    “With the Presidential election around the corner, Hon’ble CM of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, with an initiative of strong & effective opposition against the divisive forces, has reached out to the opposition CMs and leaders to participate in a joint meeting,” the party statement said.

    ALSO READ | BJP may have upper hand in close Presidential battle

    Poll for the President of India will be held on July 18, the Election Commission announced on Thursday, with 4,809 members of the electoral college comprising MPs and MLAs set to elect the successor to incumbent Ram Nath Kovind. The counting of votes will take place on July 21.

    A senior member of the state cabinet, on condition of anonymity, said that the purpose of the mission is basically to consider some names which can be proposed as a unanimous opposition candidate.

    “There might be discussion on whether there is a possibility for the opposition parties to announce the name of their candidate before BJP announces their nominee,” he said.

    He also said that preliminary discussions between Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav have already been made about the probable names of candidates.

    “In her two-day New Delhi tour she is expected to hold meetings with leaders of other anti-BJP forces,” the member of the state cabinet said. However, he refused to name those opposition leaders with whom communication had been made for fixing meetings with Mamata Banerjee during her New Delhi tour.

    The fact that Mamata Banerjee will go all out in playing a leading role in forging opposition unity on the issue of presidential polls was made clear by her in March this year.

    Soon after BJP clinched victory in the assembly polls in four out of five states, including Uttar Pradesh, Mamata Banerjee said on the floor of the assembly that the game is not over yet since BJP will not be able to get its candidate elected in the presidential polls with support from other parties.

    Sources said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge talked to Banerjee over the phone and that the Trinamool Congress chief wanted the opposition to come up with a consensus candidate for the top post.

    Kharge’s discussion with Banerjee came a day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi talked to the West Bengal chief minister as well as Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, besides NCP leader Sharad Pawar and CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury, asking them to organise a common meeting to discuss the issue of a joint presidential candidate, the sources said.

    Kharge spoke to Tiruchi Siva of the DMK, Sanjay Singh of the AAP, Elamaram Kareem of the CPI-M and Binoy Viswam of the CPI on Friday.

    He will also hold discussions with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in this regard later.

    He said he will be holding talks with other opposition leaders soon.

    Sources said the opposition leaders would be meeting soon to discuss the issue and come out with a consensus candidate for the top constitutional post in the country.

    Kharge had on Thursday called on NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai and discussed with him the issue, after Sonia Gandhi asked him to hold talks with all like-minded parties on the possibility of fielding a common candidate for the presidential poll.

    He said Pawar also supported the idea.

    Pawar indicated that the presidential poll issue may gain momentum after June 20, when polls to 10 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council will be held.

    “Our focus currently is on the elections to Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council,” Pawar told reporters.

    Kharge said he will also meet Thackeray to discuss the issue.

    “We will fix a meeting to discuss the possibility of fielding a common candidate,” he added.

    Election for the next President of India will be held on July 18 in which 4,809 electors comprising MPs and MLAs will vote to elect incumbent Ram Nath Kovind’s successor, the Election Commission announced on Thursday.

    Kovind’s term ends on July 24.

    Going by its strength in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, as well as in many state assemblies, the BJP is in a comfortable position to ensure the victory of the candidate nominated by it in the upcoming election.

    (With PTI and Agencies Inputs)

  • Opposition leaders at Kisan Parliament to show solidarity with farmer protests

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Opposition MPs on Friday joined the farmers’ protest in the national capital and witnessed ‘Kisan Parliament’, where agitating farmers passed a no-confidence motion against the government for not repealing the three farm laws.

    Leaders of 14 opposition parties watched the ‘Kisan Parliament’ at Jantar Mantar, where farmers have been sitting in protest since July 22. The decision to join protesting farmers was taken at a meeting of these parties in Parliament. The MPs sat at the ‘visitors’ gallery’ and witnessed proceedings of the ‘Kisan Parliament’ and passage of no-confidence motion. 

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and other party MPs along with MPs from DMK, SP, RJD, Left parties, NCP and Shiv Sena were present. MPs from AAP and TMC skipped but TMC MPs had met the protesting farmers earlier in the day.

    The agitating farmers have ensured since the start of their protest that politicians and political parties will not be allowed to share their platform, but they can come and sit there to express their support.

    “We have come to convey our support to the protesting farmers and their demand for repeal of the three black laws. You all know what is happening in Parliament. We want Pegasus to be discussed. They are not allowing it,” Gandhi told reporters.

    The Opposition MPs have been protesting in Parliament against the three farm laws and demanding their repeal. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said if the Opposition is really concerned about the farmers, then the government is ready to discuss the issues in both Houses, but they are not ready to talk. “They just want to be in the media’s limelight,” said Tomar.