The Opposition’s INDIA bloc on Monday held a crucial meeting at the Constitution Club in New Delhi where alliance partners reached consensus on five key issues, including Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, strengthening coordination and writing a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) over alleged vote theft.
The meeting was attended by top Opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge from Congress, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party boss Akhilesh Yadav and NCP (SCP) leader Supriya Sule.
Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray joined the meeting virtually.
Addressing a media briefing after the meeting, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced five major decisions on which a broad consensus was reached.
Five key decisions of the INDIA bloc meeting
1. Letter to the Chief Justice of India: The INDIA bloc decided to write to the Chief Justice of India regarding what it termed “vote chori” (vote theft), seeking intervention on issues related to the electoral process.
2. Parliamentary coordination to continue: Alliance partners agreed to continue coordinating closely inside Parliament and jointly raise issues concerning the Opposition and the public.
3. Regular INDIA bloc meetings: The Opposition alliance decided to meet once every two months. The next INDIA bloc meeting is scheduled to be held in Hyderabad in August.
4. Demand for Education Minister’s resignation: The bloc demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, accusing him of betraying lakhs of NEET and CBSE students over alleged irregularities and concerns in the education sector.
5. Call for an all-party meeting: The alliance urged the Union government to immediately convene an all-party meeting to discuss what it described as pressing people-centric issues.