Former Union Minister Arun Shourie says Opposition should have one goal, one vow to outcast BJP

KOLKATA: Former Union minister and disgruntled BJP leader Arun Shourie said that the opposition must unite together for 'one goal, one vow' and that should be to "outcast the BJP".

"All of us should have one goal, one vow and that should be to outcast the BJP. Our focus should not be how to ally with. We must proceed with a sense of sacrifice and not with a sense of calculation," Shourie said while addressing at the United India Rally here on Saturday.

He also claimed that the BJP could have been defeated in the Gujarat Assembly elections had the opposition united. Citing examples of the recent defeat of BJP in the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh assembly polls, he asserted that it is not impossible to remove the party from power.

He also accused the BJP of going to any extent to satiate their hunger for power. "Prime Minister Modi also realises that he is losing his grip over people. But they can go to any extent for power," he said.

Attacking the Amit Shah-led party over alleged poaching of MLAs in Karnataka, Shourie asserted, "Today we are seeing this in Karnataka, tomorrow it can be Madhya Pradesh. We have to be united and alert."

Furthermore, Shourie suggested that the opposition parties unitedly pitch one candidate against the BJP.

Sharpening his attack on the party, he asserted: "People have lost faith in Shah-Modi. Now we have to give people the confidence that we are united."

He also claimed that initially the opposition was united because of Prime Minister Modi but today it is because of Mamata Banerjee.

"One man who united the opposition was Modi, but today it is the Bengal's tigress who has put in the effort by organising this rally. Such rallies should be conducted in other parts of the country also where the opposition parties are strong," Shourie added.