NEW DELHI/PATNA: A day ahead of the key Opposition conclave in Patna, the AAP on Thursday threatened to skip the meeting if the Congress did not offer its support against the Central ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi. However, Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann reached Patna on Thursday. The Congress has, however, maintained silence on the ordinance.
In Delhi, AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar on Thursday quoted “reliable sources” to say the Congress was likely to stage a walkout from the Rajya Sabha when the ordinance would come up for discussion.
Questioning the “prolonged silence” of the Congress, Kakkar urged the party to clarify its stance. “We have received support from all corners, and the silence of Congress is suspicious,” she remarked.
In response to the AAP charges, former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit said, “No one will miss you, Kejriwal ji... We already knew that you were looking for excuses for not attending the meeting.”
The Patna meeting, to be chaired by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, is believed to devise a strategy against the ruling NDA, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the next year’s Lok Sabha polls.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, her Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin and former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti have already reached Patna. Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena leader and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and others are due to arrive in Patna on Friday.
Mamata called on RJD chief Lalu Prasad and said the former Bihar CM was feeling strong and can fight against BJP “more ferociously”. “We will fight like a family against the BJP,” she said.