Rescheduled Patna opposition meeting on June 23; Key Opposition Leaders Confirm Participation
07-06-2023 : The highly anticipated opposition meeting, aimed at strategizing against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its alleged disregard for the Constitution, has faced another postponement. Originally scheduled for June 12, the meeting has now been rescheduled to take place on June 22. The decision to defer the meeting was attributed to issues with the initial date and the unavailability of key Congress leaders.
Lalan Singh, the leader of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) party, announced the new date alongside Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. Singh stated that top leaders from various opposition parties, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, Hemant Soren of Jharkhand, Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi, Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena, M.K. Stalin of Tamil Nadu, D. Raja and Sitaram Yechury of the Left, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, and Dipankar Bhattacharya of the CPI-ML, have given their consensus for the June 22 meeting in Patna.
The rescheduling was prompted by the prior unavailability of key Congress leaders due to pre-scheduled commitments. Rahul Gandhi’s presence in the United States and Mallikarjun Kharge’s engagement in previously arranged programs led to the decision to postpone the meeting. However, with the revised date, all the concerned leaders have confirmed their participation, showing their commitment to collectively devise a strategy to challenge the BJP and its alleged assault on democratic principles.
Tejashwi Yadav emphasized the urgent need to counter what he referred to as an “emergency” imposed by the BJP, expressing concerns that dissent against the Narendra Modi-led government has been met with scrutiny from investigative agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the Income Tax department. The opposition aims to unite against the BJP and restore democracy in the country.
While objections were raised by the Congress over the original date due to its historical significance as the day when Jayaprakash Narayan initiated the Sampoorna Kranti movement against the Congress in 1975, discussions also revolved around the choice of venue. The Congress preferred a meeting location in a state where the party holds power, with Shimla being proposed as an alternative. However, Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, and Mamata Banerjee remained steadfast in their support for Patna as the venue as per sources.
Despite the rescheduling and venue deliberations, the opposition meeting holds significant importance as it brings together leaders from various parties who share a common goal of challenging the BJP and working towards a viable strategy for the future.
