Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in his opening remarks at the INDIA Bloc leaders meeting on Monday called for greater opposition unity to take on the political, economic, social, and foreign policy challenges facing the country under the Modi government.
As many as 23 Opposition parties are attending the crucial meeting, as the alliance faces uncomfortable questions about its internal unity, with key constituents DMK and AAP opting to stay away and several partners expressing unease over the Congress party's role within the grouping.
Welcoming the leaders, Kharge said that the INDIA bloc was formed nearly three years ago and that its strength had been demonstrated in Parliament earlier this year. Referring to the opposition's joint action in the Lok Sabha on April 17, he said alliance partners had united firmly to defeat the government's delimitation bill.
“Now we have to strengthen that spirit further and move forward,” Kharge said, adding that a united opposition was necessary to address the issues confronting the country.
The Congress president alleged that millions of people were being deprived of their voting rights because of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and claimed that attacks on the Constitution were continuing.
He also accused the Centre of using investigative agencies to harass and intimidate political opponents and alleged discrimination against non-BJP-ruled states.
Apart from Kharge, senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, CPI-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, NCP MP Supriya Sule, VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan, and CPM MP John Brittas are attending the meeting.
Sources said that Tamil Nadu’s ruling TVK was not invited because it does not have any MPs.
Raising economic concerns, Kharge said that prices of essential commodities continued to rise and described the economic environment as “extremely negative.”
He further said that investment levels were insufficient to generate the jobs needed for the country’s youth and warned of increasing private monopolies across several sectors.
Kharge expressed concern about the future of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), saying the sector was facing a serious crisis. He also criticized the management of public examinations such as NEET and CBSE, alleging that repeated failures had betrayed the aspirations of millions of young people.
The Congress president said that atrocities against weaker sections of society were continuing, particularly in BJP-ruled states. He also attacked the government's foreign policy, alleging that India had moved away from the long-standing principles and values it had traditionally championed on the global stage.
Kharge also invited leaders of all constituent parties to share their views before discussions on the alliance’s future course of action. He said INDIA bloc leaders would jointly address the media later in the afternoon following the conclusion of the meeting.
