Senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, J P Nadda and Kiren Rijiju have also held a strategy session; Customary all-party meeting on Sunday
Parties of the opposition alliance INDIA are meeting online on Saturday to discuss issues for the upcoming Parliament Monsoon Session
The aim is to devise a strategy to corner the BJP-led NDA government.
However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is not expected at the meeting though the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which was earlier was said to be skipping the INDIA bloc meet, is attending
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will be there in the online meeting.
INDIA bloc differences
AAP on Friday announced its exit from the saying that the bloc has “failed to stay united and take steps to further its agenda”.
Meanwhile, on the eve of the meeting, allies Congress and CPM also clashed over Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s remarks that he is “fighting the CPI(M) ideologically”.
At a public meeting in Kerala’s Kottayam, Gandhi was quoted as saying: “I fight the RSS and Communist Party of India (Marxist) ideologically and I fight them in the realm of ideas… My biggest complaint with them is that they don’t have feelings for people. You can give whatever speeches, if you do not have feelings for people, you are not ready to connect and hug people, you will not be a leader.”
The CPI(M) called his statements “absurd”
“In his absurd and condemnable comment equating the RSS and the CPI(M), Rahul Gandhi forgets who is fighting the RSS in Kerala—the CPI(M), which has lost countless dedicated workers in resisting saffron terror. Meanwhile, in Kerala, the Congress and the RSS continue to echo each other in expressing anti-communist sentiments. As soon as he steps into Kerala, Rahul Gandhi speaks that language too,” it said in a statement.
Stormy Monsoon session
Opposition Congress is all set to question the BJP-led NDA Government on issues like the whereabouts of the Pahalgam terrorists who killed 26 persons (and are still untraceable), claims made by US President Donald Trump regarding mediating ceasefire between India & Pakistan, and “electoral manipulations in Maharashtra, Haryana, and now in Bihar.”
The leaders are expected to discuss key issues, including the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, the demand for a discussion on the Pahalgam attack, and Operation Sindoor.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said all the prominent leaders of the bloc will attend the Saturday meeting.
The opposition is expected to demand discussions on the recent Air India crash and the preliminary AAIB report.
Overall, an intense showdown is expected between the government and the opposition in the Monsoon session that begins July 21.
Ruling party meeting
Senior BJP leaders, including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, J P Nadda and Kiren Rijiju also held a strategy session on Thursday amid the Opposition raising heat on a host of issues,
The Group of Ministers is believed to have strategized the government’s stance over issues like the SIR of the electoral rolls in Bihar, the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
Piyush Goyal and G Kishan Reddy were among those who were part of the strategy session.
The customary all-party meeting will be held on Sunday.
