Tensions flare as Congress and AAP clash over ordinance at Patna meeting
New Delhi, June 23: Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) engaged in heated exchanges during a four-hour-long opposition meeting in Patna, according to sources.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal questioned the Congress party's stance on an ordinance issue, while Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge responded to allegations made by AAP Chief Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar, suggesting that the Congress was avoiding taking a stand due to a deal with the BJP.
Ahead of the meeting, Kakkar had claimed that there was a consensus between the Congress and BJP, leading to the Congress not opposing the ordinance. The meeting concluded with the decision to hold the next meeting in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, next month.
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The Congress maintained that the meeting was not the appropriate platform for discussing such issues and stated that decisions on such matters are typically made before Parliament sessions. Kharge emphasised that opposing or proposing an issue occurs within Parliament and that parties decide collectively on the issues they will work on together.
Oppn parties to meet in Shimla, prepare roadmap for anti-BJP front for 2024 Lok Sabha polls: Kharge
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/NovjsJ1xA7#MallikarjunKharge #OppositionMeeting #shimla #LoksabhaElection2024 pic.twitter.com/SEmTHxt9DY — ANI Digital (@ani_digital) June 23, 2023
"Opposing it or proposing it does not happen outside, it happens in Parliament. Before Parliament begins, all parties decide what issues they have to work on together. They know it, and even their leaders come to our all-party meetings. I don't know why is there so much publicity about it outside," Kharge had said on reaching Patna.
#WATCH | RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav after the joint opposition meeting said, "Now I am fully fit and will make Narendra Modi fit...The country's situation is grim at the moment. We will meet again in July in Shimla to prepare an agenda on how to move ahead together while… pic.twitter.com/J3EYnvcLS1 — ANI (@ANI) June 23, 2023
The meeting was expected to address topics related to social justice, alleged misuse of investigating agencies by the central government, incidents of violence in Manipur, the wrestlers' protest, and the Delhi ordinance. However, discussions regarding a single face from the joint opposition against the BJP would be avoided, as mentioned by Tejashwi Yadav earlier.
#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee during the joint opposition meeting said "We are united, we will fight unitedly...The history started from here, BJP wants that history should be changed. And we want history should be saved from Bihar. Our objective is to speak… pic.twitter.com/BB2qLgbApP — ANI (@ANI) June 23, 2023
This gathering marked the first instance where several parties with regional rivalries came together on a common platform. The BJP dismissed the opposition meeting as a mere photo session. In a public meeting in Jammu, Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed confidence in the BJP's prospects, stating that regardless of the number of parties attending the meeting, they would never unite.
Shah affirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would secure a government with more than 300 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
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- With inputs from agencies
