BJP rattled by Opposition meeting: Kharge

New Delhi: Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said the PM had claimed that he alone is enough to take on the Opposition then why was he feeling the need to get 30 parties together.

Referring to the meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Tuesday, Kharge claimed that seeing the Opposition getting together, the BJP was "rattled" and was now bringing together parties that have already splintered, in order to show numbers. Speaking with reporters here, Kharge said the Opposition parties have been meeting and coordinating for a long time, even in Parliament, but he had not heard of the 30 parties of the NDA meeting before. Taking a swipe at the PM, Kharge said, "The PM had said 'Main akela kaafi hoon saare Opposition ke liye', while speaking in Rajya Sabha, then why is he bringing together 30 parties.

Who are these 30 parties, what are their names, are they all registered with the Election Commission." Kharge's comments were a reference to the prime minister's remarks in February in Rajya Sabha wherein he had asserted that he alone outweighs all those who take turns to shout slogans to oppose him. The prime minister had said, "Desh dekh raha hai, ek akela kitno ko bhari pad raha hai (the country is watching how one person has outweighed so many)." In his remarks to reporters here ahead of the Opposition meeting in Bengaluru, Kharge also said, "Seeing what we're doing they are rattled and are now bringing together those parties that had been splintered and trying to show numbers."

Asked about the BJP's claim that Congress ignored its Delhi and Punjab unit to support the Aam Aadmi Party on the ordinance issue, Kharge said it was not about one person, but about protecting democracy and the Constitution. On the Enforcement Directorate conducting searches at premises linked to Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister and DMK leader K Ponmudy, Kharge said these were pressure tactics to break opposition parties' unity. Kharge alleged that the raids were also targeted at the DMK-Congress alliance in Tamil Nadu. Neither the DMK nor the Congress will be scared by this, Kharge said. He accused the BJP of trying to destabilise democratically-elected governments. Top leaders of 26 opposition parties are expected to brainstorm in Bengaluru on Tuesday at the official conclave of Opposition parties where they are likely to start work on a common minimum programme and announce a joint agitational plan to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls