United Opposition

Congress de facto 'fulcrum', Shashi Tharoor welcomes Opposition unity

Welcoming the recent "wave of Opposition unity", Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the Congress will "de facto" be the fulcrum around which other parties converge, but asserted that if he were in the party leadership, he would not "crow about it" and encourage one of the smaller outfits to play the role of convenor of an alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general election. In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case has generated a "surprising wave of Opposition unity" with many parties having begun to feel the truth of the adage -- united we stand, divided we fall. The former Union minister also said if most of the Opposition parties have now found a new reason to come together and stop dividing each other's vote, the BJP might find it much harder to win a majority in the 2024 elections. Asked about Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's 'thank you Germany' tweet after that country

United Opposition front? Why it is important to fix the cracks first

Though calls for a united opposition against the BJP in 2024 polls are getting louder, there are several ifs and buts around the Congress' role

Oppn parties to attend meeting on Monday to discuss strategy for debates

Opposition parties will attend a joint meeting scheduled to be held at Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge's office, ahead of the second phase of the Budget Session which will resume

Bharat Jodo Yatra not for Oppn unity but to strengthen Cong: Jairam Ramesh

AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday categorically said the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra is being done not for opposition unity, but to strengthen the Congress party

Nation in anguish under BJP rule, says Pawar; NCP calls for Oppn unity

Ahead of the next round of assembly elections, the NCP on Saturday gave a clarion call for unity of anti-BJP forces and said that party chief Sharad Pawar would play an important role in this regard. Addressing the extended working committee of the NCP here, Pawar alleged that the Modi government was anti-farmer and had also failed to tackle the issue of unemployment. He also slammed the BJP over the release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case. I am surprised that the prime minister speaks of upholding the dignity of women and two days later the BJP government in the prime minister's home state reduced the sentence of those who committed atrocities against Bilkis Bano and her family, Pawar said. The extended working committee of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also re-elected Pawar as the national president of the party. The veteran leader said that farmers were looking forward to getting a good price for their paddy crop, but the government has imposed a 20 per cent

Bharat Jodo Yatra will help in forging opposition unity: Rahul Gandhi

The Bharat Jodo Yatra will help in forging Opposition unity even though that is a separate exercise, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday. Speaking to the media during the yatra which started from Kanyakumari on Thursday, he said the idea of this march is to connect with the people, listen to them, understand what they are facing and also communicate to them a few things. Gandhi said the aim is to communicate that India has changed and the "institutional framework of India has been captured". "There is an attempt to place one vision on top of this country which has multiple visions. One vision is being enforced," he said, adding the yatra is a step to communicate that to the people. "The yatra will of course help in bringing together the Opposition but that is a separate exercise," the former Congress chief said when asked about what is being done for Opposition unity. Rahul Gandhi, along with several of his party colleagues, embarked on the 3,570-km 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' fro

It should be 'main front', not 'third front': Nitish on opposition unity

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday pitched for uniting all non-BJP parties, saying it will be the "main front" and not the "third front". Speaking to reporters after meeting several non-BJP leaders here, Kumar said he had "very good and long discussions". "If all non-BJP parties in various states come together, then an atmosphere will emerge for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections where things would not remain one-sided. With whomever I talked to, there were positive discussions," he said. On talks of the third front, he said, "Whenever someone says there is a need to create a third front, I always say let's make the 'main front'. Whenever it happens, it will be the main front, not the third front." Kumar held deliberations with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar earlier in the day and also met CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya. The Bihar chief minister met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday. He had on Tuesday met CPIM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general .

Nitish 'neither claimant nor desirous' for PM post, calls for united Oppn

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said he is neither a claimant for the prime minister's post nor desirous of it, his assertion coming amid speculation that his visit to Delhi is to claim leadership of the opposition parties. It is time for the Left parties, the Congress and all regional parties to come together to form a united opposition, Kumar told reporters after meeting CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI general secretary D Raja at their respective party offices. The Janata Dal (United) leader, who severed his party's ties with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last month, is in the capital to meet key opposition leaders. "I have had a long association with the CPI(M) from my younger days. You all have not seen me, but whenever I used to come to Delhi, I used to come to this office. We were separated but today, all of us are together again. Our entire focus is to unite all the Left parties, the regional parties and the Congress. This will b

Delhi: Nitish Kumar's meeting with Rahul Gandhi goes on for nearly an hour

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who reached the national capital to confer with opposition leaders on taking on the BJP together, had a nearly one-hour-long meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

With Nitish by his side, Telangana CM in Patna calls for 'BJP mukt Bharat'

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who met his counterpart in Bihar Nitish Kumar, as part of efforts to forge opposition unity, on Wednesday called for a BJP mukt Bharat, blaming the saffron party's government at the Centre for the many ills plaguing the country. At a press conference he addressed in the presence of Kumar, whom he fondly called "bade bhai" (big brother), Rao skirted questions about who will lead a united opposition and whether the Congress will be taken on board. Rao is one of the most vocal satraps opposed to the BJP. These things will be decided in due course. We are in no hurry, said Rao, in reply to questions about the prime ministerial candidate and the role of the Congress, to which his Telangana Rashtra Samiti is bitterly opposed. He blamed the Narendra Modi government for capital drain, a term he coined rhyming 'brain drain' to underscore that businesses were withdrawing their money from the country because of the Centre's policies. Rao also fla

Sharad Pawar renews pitch for opposition unity for 2024 Lok Sabha polls

Amid bickering among the opposition parties, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday renewed the pitch for unity for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Interacting with reporters here after welcoming leaders from Haryana into the party fold, Pawar said the NCP was open to contesting polls as part of an opposition alliance under a common minimum programme to take on the BJP. Pawar also asked the opposition parties to keep aside differences and unite on an anti-BJP platform for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, he had said efforts were underway at the national level to bring non-BJP parties together to create a public opinion. At the same time, the NCP supremo had made it clear that he was not keen on taking up any responsibility due to his age. Pawar also accused the Narendra Modi government of failing to fulfil any of the promises made by it since 2014, including ushering in "acche din". The BJP's agenda is to keep smaller parties away from power, the NCP chief alleged.

Nitish Kumar exhorts alliance partners to unitedly fight BJP in LS polls

After winning the trust vote in Bihar Assembly, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is exhorting his Mahagathbandhan alliance partners to unitedly work towards wiping out BJP from the Centre

BJP slams Yashwant Sinha, says his appeal to Murmu depicts 'nasty mindset'

Hitting back at oppn candidate for polls Yashwant Sinha for his "rubber stamp" comments, BJP General Secretary said a feeling that an Adivasi woman is not capable itself depicts one's "nasty mindset"

Onus on Cong for Oppn unity during Guj Assembly polls: NCP's Praful Patel

The onus of keeping like-minded parties together to fight the BJP in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly polls was on the Congress, which had failed to do so in 2017, senior NCP leader Praful Patel said

Mamata moots panel of leaders to decide on programmes to fight BJP

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday proposed to form a core group of opposition leaders to decide on joint movements against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls

Those who believe in democracy, secularism must come together: Pawar

Those who believe in democracy and secularism must come together and draw up a "time-bound action program", NCP supremo Sharad Pawar said after taking part in a virtual meeting of opposition leaders

Lok Sabha adjourned till noon amid protest by Opposition members

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till noon on Friday amid protest by Opposition members over Pegasus and other issues

West Bengal polls: Mamata Banerjee's anti-BJP front bid gets tepid response

Banerjee said the time had come for a "united and effective" struggle against the BJP's 'attacks' on democracy and the Constitution

United Opposition urges President Kovind to support farmers, persuade govt

Till early in the day, government representatives said they were hopeful the problem would be resolved.

Protests against CAA must have head and heart together: Amartya Sen

The Nobel laureate also said that the opposition must unite to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act