On Friday, Sonia Gandhi, president of India's main opposition Congress party, urged the country's other opposition parties to "plan systematically" for the upcoming general elections and "rise above compulsions" to work in unison. While addressing 19 party leaders, Gandhi said that she was confident of opposition unity in Parliament and added that a larger political battle has to be fought outside it.
"The ultimate goal is the 2024 Lok Sabha polls for which we've to begin to plan systematically with the single-minded objective of giving to our country a government that believes in the values of the Freedom Movement and the principles and provisions of our Constitution," she said.
Reportedly, DMK's MK Stalin, TMC's Mamata Banerjee, JMM's Hemant Soren, Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray, NCP's Sharad Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal's Sharad Yadav, and CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury were present for the virtual meeting. Meanwhile, former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi were also in attendance.
The Congress president also stated that the parties should begin to plan "with the single-minded objective of giving to our country a government that believes in the values of the Freedom Movement and the principles and provisions of our Constitution." Gandhi also blamed the BJP-led government’s “obstinate and arrogant unwillingness to discuss and debate urgent issues of public importance."
Issuing a joint statement after the meeting, the 19 opposition parties urged people to rise to the occasion to defend the country's secularism and democracy with all their might. "Save India today, so that we can change it for a better tomorrow," the statement reads.