Leaders of around 20 non-BJP parties on Saturday came together at a rally organised by Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee here and pitched for unity for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to oust the Modi government.
With Mamata anchoring the show, leaders from parties like Congress, DMK, TDP, JD(S), NCP, Samajwadi Party, BSP, RJD, AAP, National Conference, RLD and AIUDF attacked the BJP-led NDA Central government and singularly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, parties like TRS, BJD and the Left chose not to attend the rally which was significantly attended by disgruntled BJP member Shatrughan Sinha and former BJP ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie. Telangana Rashtra Samithi MP K Kavitha also made it a point to assert on the day that the federal front proposed by her father and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao at the national level, was taking shape and her party will certainly play a major role.
"We want neither Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) nor Rahulji (Congress chief Rahul Gandhi) to be given opportunity. People of the country need an alternative and wherever efforts are going on to remove these two parties the TRS will be there," she said in Hyderabad.
The Congress too made clear its stand with leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge reading out a letter sent by AICC leader Sonia Gandhi in support of the 'gathbandhan' at the Kolkata rally. "Dil miley ya na miley, kam se kam haath milatey chalo (Even if the hearts don't meet, at least hands should meet hands)," Kharge said.
A visibly elated Mamata reiterated that her government will not allow the BJP to take out any rath yatra in the state as her party was apprehensive that it would lead to communal unrest. "Whenever the BJP organised any rally or meeting, you do a counter one at the same place the very next day to disabuse the minds of the people," she said.
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 "Kolkata rally")
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