Bengaluru Opposition Meet Day 1: None has opposed Rahul's leadership, Congress asserts ahead of parleys

Congress is hosting the second instalment of Opposition meeting in Bengaluru with 26 parties expected to be in attendance to thrash out a strategy to fight the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Follow this article for all updates related to the important story here. Stay tuned.

Bengaluru:Twenty-six opposition parties from across the country are expected to attend the Congress-sponsored two-day brainstorming session in Karnataka's Bengaluru, where the top leaders will come up with a strategy to unitedly fight against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, according to sources. This article will bring you all the developments related to the Opposition meeting here and will also offer links to the related stories.

It is pertinent to note that the on the eve of the meeting, grand old party which has recently romped to power in the southern state routing the saffron party has clarified that it will oppose the ordinance on Delhi services in Parliament. Aam Aadmi Party which is in power in Delhi and Punjab has put that as a primary condition to attend the parleys.

The last meeting was attended by fifteen parties. It was hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on June 23. "This time we are expecting leaders of 26 parties," a source said. The opposition meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of the recent split in the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra and the panchayat polls which saw widespread violence that claimed many lives in West Bengal. In the eastern State, party chiefs of Congress and Left have accused the TMC government of oppression. The two-day meet is likely to come up with a name for the alliance and the common minimum programme.

• Rahul Gandhi is the mass leader in Congress party. Rather, in the Opposition itself. Last meeting also everybody praised him, KC Venugopal said when he was asked whether everyone has accepted as the leader of Opposition. Venugopal reiterated that everyone who participated in the meeting praised Rahul Gandhi for his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
• On a day when the Opposition meet was scheduled, the Enforcement Directorate arrived at the doorsteps of Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy. While leaving for the Opposition meet in Bengaluru, DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin mocked the central agency as having joined the 'election campaign' of the saffron party dismissing the case against his cabinet colleague as a 'false case' foisted 13 years ago during the late
  J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK regime. Read more...
• The Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri says India's secular democracy has to be 'safeguarded and protected' and there is determination towards that. He was speaking to the media ahead of the second round of Opposition meeting hosted by Congress in Bengaluru. He cleared the air that some frictions have been "resolved." Read more...
• NCP leader Sharad Pawar will attend Day 2 of the opposition meet in Bengaluru. Earlier, ANI quoting multiple sources reported stating that the Sharad Pawar faction is yet to take a decision on attending Day 2 of the opposition meet in Bengaluru. The decision, it said will be taken “later today or early tomorrow.” The agency also sent out a report claiming that Sharad Pawar will skip the Opposition meet. Read more...
• Uddhav Sena leader Sanjay Raut said his party would participate in the Opposition Meet. The Parliamentarian cleared the air on Sharad Pawar's participation. He asserted that he would confirm the participation of Sharad Pawar in the Opposition meet on Tuesday.
• New name on the cards for the United Progressive Alliance. The united Opposition which is yearning for a change in power in Centre has been working to rechristen itself. It is learnt the combine might name itself as Patriotic Democratic Alliance or PDA which has come on top during their previous brainstorming sessions. Read more...
• Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera, in a media interaction, thanked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for hosting dinner for Opposition leaders. This is the second summit of Opposition parties. Twenty-six political parties are participating in this meeting. We are all united by a common purpose: to protect democracy in this country, to ensure constitutional rights and the independence of our institutions. These are all under attack by the present regime of the BJP Govt, says Venugopal.
• Centre using agencies to tackle the Opposition. Today, we have seen in the morning that Enforcement Directorate has launched raids at the residence of a DMK Minister. If this is not vendetta politics? Then, what is? Wondered Venugopal.