Preparations are underway for the Opposition meeting in Patna to be held on June 23. However, a day before the meeting, Opposition unity already seems to be under stress as AAP has made it clear that it may walk out of the meeting if Congress doesn't support it on the ordinance issue. Earlier, AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister had asked parties to discuss the ordinance issue in the meeting. Kejriwal had also met a number of leaders including Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, CM KCR in Telangana, and Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow to garner support on the ordinance issue. The Centre on May 19 had brought an ordinance notifying rules for GNCTD regarding "transfer posting, vigilance and other incidental matters." The ordinance led to a fresh row between AAP and Centre with AAP saying that the Centre through Delhi LG did not want an elected government to function.
What Kejriwal said earlier?
"I hope that the Congress will clearly state its position, as the other political parties present in the meeting will inquire about it. The first topic to be discussed will be the Delhi ordinance. I will explain the risks of this ordinance to each and every party attending the meeting. I will bring the Constitution of India with me and demonstrate how this ordinance ridicules it," said Kejriwal asking Congress to make its stand clear on the issue of ordinance controlling services in Delhi brought by Center, reported PTI.
Leaders who are attending the Opposition Meeting
Congress - Party President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Nationalist Congress Party - NCP Chief Sharad Pawar.
DMK - DMK party president and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin.
TMC - West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
AAP- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.
Samajwadi Party (SP) - SP party president Akhilesh Yadav.
Shiv Sena (UBT) - Shiv Sena UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray.
National Conference (NC) - National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP)- People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti.
Left party leaders including Secretary-General of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Sitaram Yechury.
War of words before Oppn meeting
However, even before the meeting, a war of words broke out with Tejashwi Yadav attacking the BJP and projecting the Opposition meeting as an exercise in coming up with alternatives for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the other hand, BJP leader Sushil Modi took on the RJD and said, "The party (RJD) which does not have a single seat in the Lok Sabha, is challenging the party with 303 seats (BJP). Bihar will give 40 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats to PM Modi."
