NEW DELHI (TIP): Leaders of 19 Opposition parties, on August 20,2021 announced a joint agitation plan from September 20 to 30 after Congress president Sonia Gandhi urged them to rise above political compulsions to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

It’s time to rise above political compulsions — Sonia Gandhi, Congress

All secular, democratic forces must join hands — Sharad Pawar, NCP

Mamata proposes core committee to steer fight against BJP

Tejaswi Yadav seeks ‘driving seat’ for regional parties

In a signed statement, Opposition stalwarts, including NCP’s Sharad Pawar, TMC’s Mamata Banerjee, DMK’s MK Stalin, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray and JMM’s Hemant Soren, called upon the people of India to defend “the secular, democratic, republican order with all their might”.

11 demands

• Augment production and ensure free vaccination
• Give Rs7,500 a month to families outside income tax bracket
• Reduce prices of fuel
• Repeal three farm laws & guarantee MSP to farmers
• Pegasus probe under SC
• Release political prisoners, including those in Bhima Koregaon case, anti-CAA protests
• Restore J&K’s full statehood
• Stop, reverse privatization
• Revive MSMEs
• Expand MGNREGA

Jabs for teachers, pupils

“Save India today, so that we can change it for a better tomorrow,” they said listing 11 demands, including restoration of full statehood and elections in Jammu and Kashmir, repeal of three farm laws and institution of an SC-led inquiry into the Pegasus snooping row.

The statement followed a major Opposition outreach in which Sonia Gandhi said, “Our ultimate goal is the 2024 Lok Sabha poll for which we have to begin planning systematically with the single-minded objective of giving to our country a government that believes in the values of the freedom movement and in the principles and provisions of our Constitution. This is a challenge, but together we can and must rise to it because there is simply no alternative to working cohesively together. We all have our compulsions, but clearly, a time has come when the interests of our nation demand that we rise above them.”

Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee proposed the formation of a core group of Opposition leaders to chalk out joint programs. The like-minded parties “needed to unite to defeat the BJP”, she said.

The meeting was attended by leaders of the TMC, NCP, DMK, Shiv Sena, JMM, CPI, CPM, NC, RJD, AIUDF, VCK, Loktantrik Janta Dal, JDS, RLD, RSP, Kerala Congress Mani, PDP and IUML. The BSP, AAP and SP skipped the event, but the Congress claimed SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had intimated about his absence.

In the meeting, symbolically organized on the birth anniversary of her husband and late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia blamed the government for the recent Parliament washout.

(Agencies)