Patna: Ahead of the crucial mega opposition meeting to be held in Patna on June 23, Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said all the leaders attending the meeting have been told to be present themselves and not send their representatives so that decisions can be taken.
Speaking to the media here, Tejashwi reiterated that 15 opposition parties have confirmed their participation in the meeting and except Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, all leaders are coming.
..."Couldn't have a word with KCR (Telangana CM) but all other leaders are coming...almost 15 parties will be attending the meet...it has been decided that party leaders, and not representatives will attend (the Opposition meeting) so that decisions can be taken," Tejashwi said.
Yadav and JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' had on Wednesday announced that the opposition parties' conclave will be held on June 23 and leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Hemant Soren, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, MK Stalin, Arvind Kejriwal, D Raja, Sitaram Yechury and Dipankar Bhattacharya will attend the meet.
The meeting has been convened by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to mobilise the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Commenting on his participation, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Thursday that Nitish Kumar had called him up and extended an invitation. "He has invited the opposition leaders of the country. I will go there. He has extended the invitation keeping in mind the necessity to work together on a national issue...," news agency ANI quoted Pawar as having said.
Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav also claimed that the BJP was "scared" of fighting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in which it may have to face a united opposition. The RJD leader was responding to questions from journalists about remarks of some BJP leaders who have sought to make light of the conclave of opposition parties to be held in Patna on June 23.
"It is not for the BJP to decide what impact the opposition conclave is going to have. They are scared of facing the Lok Sabha polls. They recently lost assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. They are staring at a series of defeats in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Haryana," claimed Yadav.
Notably, Nitish Kumar, the JD(U)'s supreme leader, who dumped the BJP last year, has since been advocating a "united opposition" to take on the NDA in the Lok Sabha polls. Asked about KCR, Nitish said, "We have not spoken to him so far". It is pertinent to mention that KCR had flown down to Patna last year, shortly after Nitish Kumar's exit from the NDA, and endorsed the latter's pitch for national unity.
However, there have been apprehensions that the Telangana CM might flinch from joining any formation of which the Congress, currently his principal rival in the state, was a part. Moreover, of late the BRS has dropped ample hints that instead of becoming a part of a "united opposition" it would try to showcase the "Telangana model".
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