• Source:JND

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA Bloc) is set for a mega Opposition meeting on Monday, with Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee set to join it after the recent poll debacle in West Bengal. The meeting is being seen in political circles as a renewed push towards opposition unity, which Mamata is now banking on more than ever. Congress, on the other hand, is all set to take its momentum from the south to Delhi against the PM Modi-led BJP government at the Centre.

However, the way forward does not seem easy as Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have distanced themselves from the meeting, while Communist Party of India (M) has sought a response from Congress regarding crude allegations made during the Kerala Assembly elections.

CPI-M unhappy with Congress's poll attack, suggesting understanding with BJP 

From the CPI(M), MP John Brittas will attend the INDIA bloc meeting. News agency PTI quoted sources as saying that CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby recently wrote to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge seeking clarification on comments by senior Congress leaders that indicated a political understanding between the CPI(M) and the BJP in Kerala.

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A copy of the letter was also shared with other parts of the INDI bloc, stating that such allegations were against the spirit of cooperation within the opposition alliance. The report cited CPI(M) sources as saying the party had not yet received a response from Congress and expected Brittas to raise the issue at the meeting.

Baby expressed concern that allegations by Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Kharge, went beyond electoral criticism. This issue has been a bone of contention between the two parties since the Kerala Assembly elections.

DMK and AAP boycott

The fourth-largest party in the Lok Sabha, DMK, has also boycotted the meeting, given the ongoing bitterness over Congress's support to TVK. Earlier in the day, DMK leader RS Bharathi launched a scathing attack, comparing Congress's exit from the alliance to "adultery" and said that the Dravidian major will never welcome back defectors.

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DMK MP Kanomozhi even wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to change the seating arrangement, saying that it is not appropriate to sit with Congress MPs.

Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has also distanced itself from the meeting, which is seen as a sign of growing differences ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections.


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