Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday held a virtual meeting with the Chief Ministers of seven opposition states. The topics under discussion ranged from the upcoming NEET and JEE exams to federalism, with each leader putting forth their own perspectives on the issue and expounding on their grievances with the Centre.
Here we've pulled out some of the notable comments made by the various Chief Ministers and Sonia Gandhi. And while this is by no means a complete summary of all the topics that they spoke on and all the comments they made, we've tried to sum up their points as succinctly as possible.
Here's what the state leaders had to say:
1. Mamata Banerjee urged states to "jointly appeal against Supreme Court order on holding JEE/NEET examinations" and said that the State government is yet to get Rs 53,000 crore from the Centre.
2. "We should decide whether we have to fight or fear," said Maharashtra's Uddhav Thackeray calling for release of GST dues and opposing the conducting of examinations.
3. "Let us all get together to move the Supreme Court for postponement of the exams, which are threatening the lives of lakhs of students," said Captain Amarinder Singh suggesting that exams could also be held online.
4. "The opposition is looking weak in the country presently," opined Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, adding that he was opposed to holding exams and taking a jibe at the Centre for its efforts to "privatise profit making public sector organisations".
5. Accusing the Centre of "doing nothing" amid a crisis, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot commented on issues such as the economic package announced by the Centre, absence of GST compensation and urged Sonia Gandhi to lead a delegation of opposition CMs to the prime minister or president.
6. Calling the situation "fearful" Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that the Centre had not paid GST compensation to the states for the last four months.
7. Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said that conducting examinations will lead to a rise in COVID-19 cases in India and that the Indian Government would be "responsible for it".
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