Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge addressed the 26 opposition parties in Bengaluru on the second and concluding day of the Opposition meeting. Kharge affirmed that Congress is not interested in power or the post of the Prime Minister. He added, "Our intention in this meeting is not to gain power for ourselves. It is to protect our Constitution, Democracy, Secularism, and Social Justice".
Further, speaking on the unity of the 26 political parties, having different ideologies, Kharge said, "We are aware that at the state level, there are differences between some of us. These differences are not ideological. These differences are not so big that we cannot put them behind us for the sake of the common man and middle class, for youth, the poor, the Dalit, the adivasis and the minorities whose rights are being crushed silently behind the scenes".
The 26 parties have gathered to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
He said 26 parties are here together and in government in 11 states today.
"The BJP did not get 303 seats by itself. It used the votes of its allies and came to power and then discarded them. Today, the BJP president and its leaders are running from state to state to patch up with their old allies," he said.
During Day 2 of the opposition meeting, the 26 like-minded parties are likely to rename United Progressive Alliance. As per the ANI sources, Four new names for UPA have been sent to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and there is a possibility that the final name will be announced today.
And the news agency added that the name of Sonia Gandhi as chairperson of the new grouping is also suggested.
Gandhi was the chairperson of UPA 1 and 2, which remained in government from 2004 to 2014.
The parties are also likely to issue a joint declaration and finalise a committee for the functioning of the grouping.
They will also announce two sub-committees one for finalising the common minimum programme along with communication points and the other for chalking out a joint opposition programme of events, rallies, and conventions.
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Updated: 18 Jul 2023, 01:40 PM IST