NEW DELHI: Members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc seem to have buried the hatchet as parleys are in progress to finalise a convenient date to hold the meeting of coalition partners according to the availability of their top leaders.
The Congress had to call off the Wednesday meeting, which was apparently scheduled without consultation with coalition partners in the national capital, in which the top leadership of opposition parties was supposed to be present. Instead, floor leaders from 17 parties of the 'INDIA' bloc met at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday evening.
However, leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) were not present. Kharge, along with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, chaired the meeting of the opposition's parliament leaders.
"A parliamentary strategy meeting of like-minded parties of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha floor leaders was held at 10, Rajaji Marg. We will take up the issues of the people in Parliament in the remaining part of this session to hold the government accountable. A date for the meeting of INDIA parties will soon be fixed in consultation with the leaders of all parties. Judega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA," Kharge posted on the micro-blogging site 'X'.
The Congress party's whip in Rajya Sabha, Syed Naseer Hussain, told media persons that several issues, including the upcoming bills in Parliament and the behaviour of the government, were also deliberated upon. "It was decided that the dates of the leaders of the INDIA bloc would be finalised in a day or two and announced," he said.
Asked about the absence of TMC and Shiv Sena, Hussain said they had already informed that they would not be able to attend. "It happens daily that some parties are not able to participate due to some compulsion," he remarked.
According to Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena-UBT, the next meeting of the group of opposition parties may take place on December 16 or 18. On Tuesday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav said that the members of the opposition’s coalition will hold a meeting on December 17.
In an apparent snub to Congress for ignoring INDIA bloc members during recently concluded elections in Hindi heartland—Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh—TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, on Monday, expressed their inability to attend the meeting.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Wednesday, said that he couldn’t come to Delhi to attend the meeting as he was suffering from a fever. "Is it possible that I will not attend the meeting? We want all members of the alliance should move forward swiftly," he told reporters in Patna.
Banerjee, speaking to the media persons at Kolkata airport before setting out on her six-day north Bengal tour, said that she would attend the opposition bloc’s next meeting but added that alliance partners should be informed at least seven to 10 days in advance.
Among Congress leaders present at Kharge's residence were its leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari, besides general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh.
The opposition leaders present at the meeting included Mahua Majhi of JMM, Vaiko of MDMK, N K Premchandran (RSP), Binoy Viswam (CPI), Lalan Singh of JDU, Ram Gopal Yadav and ST Hasan of SP, Jayant Chaudhary of RLD.
Besides, Vandana Chavan of NCP, Raghav Chadha of AAP, Tiruchi Siva of DMK and Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi, Naseer Hussain and Rajani Patil were also present at the meeting that started around 7 PM and continued for an hour.
Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M), Faiyaz Ahmad (RJD), Jose K Mani of Kerala Congress (M), Javed Ali Khan (SP), TR Baalu (DMK), Hasnain Masoodi (NC) and Mohd Basheer (IUML) also attended the meeting.
Today's meeting assumes significance as it comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the elections in three Hindi heartland states -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- while the Congress won the poll battle in Telangana.
There have been rumblings within the INDIA bloc after the Congress's electoral loss in the three Hindi heartland states, with the SP, which was miffed after being ignored in seat sharing, expressing its displeasure openly.
Leaders of parties such as the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Janata Dal (United) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have said the Congress should be more accommodating when it comes to its regional allies.
At least 26 parties came together as part of the INDIA bloc to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections and have so far held three rounds of deliberations in Patna, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
Sources said the opposition leaders would now plan joint rallies that were put on hold due to the assembly elections. One such rally planned in the first week of October in Bhopal was cancelled at the last moment. Talks on seat-sharing between regional outfits would also gain momentum now, they said.
(With additional inputs from PTI)