BENGALURU, 17 Jul: The Congress on Monday asserted that opposition unity would be “a game changer” for the Indian political scenario and took a swipe at the BJP, saying that those who used to talk of defeating the opposition parties alone are now making attempts to breathe new life into the NDA, “which had become a ghost.”
Addressing a press conference here on the two-day crucial deliberations of opposition parties starting on Monday evening, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suddenly remembered the NDA.
“Attempts are being made to breathe new life into the NDA. There used to be no talk about NDA and suddenly, since the past few days, we are hearing and reading about it. Suddenly, it was reported that an NDA meeting has been called for tomorrow. So NDA, which had become a ghost, attempts are now being made to breathe a new life into it,” Ramesh said.
This is a result of the meeting in Patna, he added.
Also addressing the presser alongside Ramesh, Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said that people will teach a lesson when the time comes to those who have totally failed in governance and cheated them with false promises.
He said that 26 opposition parties are here to move forward unitedly and give a solution for people’s problems and to address the concerns over this “dictatorial government’s actions.”
“That is why we have come here. This is the second meeting. We will decide in this meeting what the course of action would be in future,” Venugopal said.
The Parliament session is also starting on 20 July and the opposition parties will chalk out the strategy for that also, he said.
“We are very sure that this is going to be a game changer for Indian political scenario and we are very happy to see that after the Patna meeting, those who were saying that ‘we are very comfortable in defeating the entire Opposition alone’, have now started meetings; that is the real success of opposition unity,” Venugopal said.
He said that the opposition parties are all united by a common purpose to protect democracy, constitutional rights and the independence of institutions in the country.
“These are all under attack from the BJP government. They want to silence the opposition voice. They are using their agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, CBI to suppress the voice of opposition. The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi was the biggest example of that,” Venugopal alleged.
“The incident happening in Maharashtra also shows that. They want to destabilise elected governments by misusing these agencies,” he said, referring to the Ajit Pawar-led revolt in the NCP.
Venugopal said also that Manipur has been “burning” since the last 75 days and the “silence of the PM is shocking.”
The people of the country are in great distress, he claimed, pointing to unemployment and price rise.
He alleged that the government is making no attempt to address the common concerns of the people.
Venugopal said that 26 political parties from all over India will participate in the second opposition summit in Bengaluru on 18 July, after the “successful” meeting in Patna. (PTI)