Mumbai: VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar has given a week's time to the Congress to convey its decision regarding alliance with the VBA. 'Else we shall contest all 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra,' he said.
“VBA spokesperson Adv Priyadarshi Telang wrote an email to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on September 1. Kharge was in Mumbai for the INDIA meeting those days. Moreover, it was necessary to convey to the Congress that the VBA is open for an alliance and it was also necessary to strike off misleading statements that the VBA was invited for the INDIA meet,” Ambedkar said, adding that there has been no response to the email as yet.
“Adv Telang had written in the email that if the INDIA alliance is serious in fighting out the RSS-BJP's divisive policies and politics, it is the Congress' responsibility to include all the secular like-minded parties with them. We had time and again stated that we are open for an alliance. The letter was also made public over X (formerly twitter). Yet there is no response from Kharge or his colleagues. Now they will have to tell the people of Maharashtra why they kept out a group of parties that polled 6.98% votes in Lok Sabha and 5.57% in Assembly polls of 2019 in Maharashtra,” Ambedkar added.