Ajit Karn
Friday in Kolkata, Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy met with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Kumaraswamy met Banerjee at her residence in Kolkata’s Kalighat.
“Met with the Honorable Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, in Kolkata and held discussions. Earlier in the day, she provided a cordial welcome. We discussed upcoming elections for the Karnataka Assembly, the triumph of the Pancha Ratna Yatra, and national political developments,” Kumaraswamy tweeted.
The former chief minister of Karnataka stated that the Trinamool supremo discussed collaborating with the JDS in national politics.
“The chief minister of West Bengal stated that she will visit Karnataka to campaign for the Janata Dal Secular, as well as discuss the need for the All India Trinamool Congress and JDS to work together on a national level,” he added.
Karnataka will hold assembly elections in the following months.
The meeting between the two leaders assumed significance in light of efforts by leaders of multiple opposition parties to construct a unified opposition alliance to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024.
Notably, Mamata’s encounter with Kumaraswamy occurs just one day after the West Bengal chief minister met with her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar.
Trinamool Congress said that during the meeting with Patnaik, Mamata reiterated the need to strengthen India’s federal structure and guarantee accountability at all levels of government.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders condemned the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as an MP.
Kumaraswamy told reporters in Kolkata, “It is not a surprise, as everyone is aware of how the central government behaves.”
On Twitter, Mamata Banerjee stated, “In PM Modi’s New India, the BJP’s primary objective is opposition leaders! While leaders of the BJP with criminal backgrounds are admitted to the cabinet, opposition leaders are disqualified for their speeches. Today marks a new low point for our constitutional democracy.”
Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after his conviction by a Surat court in a criminal defamation case, sparked a massive political dispute, with the BJP claiming that the Congress leader was a “habitual loose cannon” and the Congress claiming that he was “deliberately disqualified.”
After the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, opposition leaders criticized the government, and the Congress announced it will initiate a people’s moment on the issue.
While Congress leaders such as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party leader Mallikarjun Kharge rallied behind Rahul Gandhi, opposition leaders such as Mamata Banerjee, K Chandrashekar Rao, MK Stalin, Hemant Soren, Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray, and Akhilesh Yadav attacked the BJP-led government.
Congress applauded the support of opposition leaders and stated that the task of fostering opposition unity must be undertaken methodically. It expressed confidence in the case’s legal resolution. The evening meeting was attended by party leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi in order to determine the next course of action.
Left party leaders and the Janata Dal-Secular also criticized the government. Some of them referred to the event as a “black day” for Indian democracy. Anurag Thakur, minister of information and broadcasting, and Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of petroleum and natural gas, conducted a joint press conference in which they claimed that Rahul Gandhi considers himself superior to parliament, the government, the judiciary, and the country.
He suggested that Rahul investigate the “conspiracy” within Congress to depose him.
Thakur stated that Rahul Gandhi was granted parole in seven cases and had apologized in the past.
Attacking the Modi administration, AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stated that those who wish to “destroy the nation” should remain in the BJP, whereas those who wish to “save the nation from destruction” should depart.
“Never before in India’s history has there been a prime minister with only a high school diploma. He is incapable of governing the country and is guided by his ego. I urge every Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader to consider fleeing the party, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is destroying the country. “Those who want to see the nation destroyed can remain with the BJP, but those who wish to save it must leave,” Kejriwal stated.
K Chandrashekar Rao, leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and chief minister of Telangana, stated that it was a dark day in the annals of Indian democracy.
The leader of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Akhilesh Yadav, who has distanced himself from the Congress since their failed alliance in the 2017 assembly elections, also criticized the government.
“The political challenge does not conclude with the theft of one’s parliamentary seat. The largest movement is not one in Congress. This battle must be won on the streets. Akhilesh Yadav tweeted in Hindi that the individual who filed a defamation lawsuit should level a similar charge against those who betrayed their country and fled abroad.
MK Stalin, leader of the DMK and chief minister of Tamil Nadu, demanded an immediate review of the action taken against Rahul Gandhi.
Pinarayi Vijayan, chief minister of Kerala, stated that the decision to disqualify Rahul was made in “haste” and is “yet another chapter in the BJP’s authoritarian assault on Indian democracy.”
This blatant attack is an affront to our democratic values and cannot be ignored. It must be unequivocally condemned,” tweeted Vijayan.
Sharad Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Communist Party, stated that opposition leaders must unite to defend democratic institutions.
Also read this:Mamata Banerjee backs Rahul Gandhi, slams BJP
“The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Parliament is the pinnacle of Narendra Modi’s arrogance and dictatorship. This is not the time for parties to engage in conflict. “In order to protect the nation’s democracy and constitutional values, all democratic leaders must publicly condemn the BJP government’s misdeeds,” he stated.
