In a show of strength, leaders of 17 opposition parties came together on Friday — the third anniversary of the BJP-led NDA government — to announce their decision to collectively take on the ruling dispensation in the next general elections.
Simultaneously, they said if the government fails to put forward the name of a “secular” candidate around whom a national consensus for the post of the next President can be built, the Opposition would field its own nominee, who will uphold the Constitution.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who took the initiative for the gathering, hosted a luncheon at the Parliament Library, located in the Parliament House annexe.
Rivals share space
Significantly, even leaders of parties who are rivals on the electoral battlefield shared space on Friday: the Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and the Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati were there, as were West Bengal CM Mamata Bannerjee and the CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury.
While the Nationalist Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Lalu Prasad, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham’s Kanimozhi, and the National Conference’s Omar Abdullah showed up, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar pleaded a previous engagement, leaving Janata Dal (U) colleagues Sharad Yadav and K.C. Tyagi to fill in for him. What raised eyebrows here is that Mr. Kumar will be in the capital on Saturday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Significantly, even leaders of parties who are rivals on the electoral battlefield shared space on Friday: the Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and the BSP’s Mayawati were there, as were West Bengal CM Mamata Bannerjee and the CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury.
While the Nationalist Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Lalu Prasad, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham’s Kanimozhi, and the National Conference’s Omar Abdullah showed up, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar pleaded a previous engagement, leaving JD(U) colleagues Sharad Yadav and K.C. Tyagi to fill in for him. What raised eyebrows here is that Mr. Kumar will be in the capital on Saturday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At the meeting, the opposition leaders discussed the record of the Modi government, touching in detail on the grave situation in Kashmir and Saharanpur, the unchecked spate of heinous crimes over the last three years that had been unleashed against Dalits, youth, women, and minorities, and demonetisation.
Commenting on the meeting, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav said, “The NDA had "failed" on all fronts…Its only achievement is that it has set the Pakistan flag fluttering in Kashmir for the first time after Independence.” Ms. Banerjee, who was one of the first to arrive and leave, said if a national consensus candidate was not possible, a small committee of opposition leaders would be formed to select a suitable presidential candidate who is “good and secular”.
Representing the Congress, were former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party vice president Rahul Gandhi and senior party leaders Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjuna Kharge.
Tradition of consensus
After the meeting, Mr Azad and Mr Sharad Yadav read out a joint statement stating that the normal practice preceding presidential and vice presidential polls was for the ruling party to take the initiative to build a consensus on the names of candidates for these important offices.
“This has not happened so far. If acceptable consensual candidates do not emerge, then we (opposition parties) shall decide to field such persons who shall steadfastly defend the Constitutional values of our Republic,” according to the statement.
