New Delhi: Opposition parties that have come together to form a mega alliance called Bharat (Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance) will meet on Thursday morning to discuss their strategy for the monsoon session of Parliament.
The session, which will run from July 20 to August 11, will provide an opportunity to the parties to plan, perform and act as a united group and strike a balance between the major issues of the constituent parties. Leaders of India’s parliamentary party will meet at 10 a.m. in Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber to “discuss issues to be raised in Parliament from the first day of the monsoon session,” a Congress leader said.
“It is going to be a very important meeting. We will see more coordination between parties. All the top leaders of India have met twice in less than a month, first in Patna and then in Bengaluru. We have a name and a plan for our alliance. So, in both the Houses, we will have more coordination and more aggression,” said Congress Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore.
Members from India have already identified several issues to try to corner the government, including the situation in Manipur, inflation, unemployment, federalism, Delhi’s controversial ordinance on bureaucracy and alleged misuse of investigative agencies.
In an all-party meeting chaired by Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday, members of India have already made it clear that they want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to either respond or issue a statement on the situation in Manipur. The new alliance also wants the Delhi ordinance to be repealed.
The focus is expected to be on floor coordination in the meeting to be held on Thursday. The parties have to collectively decide on the campaign and floor strategy.
Tagore argued that 24 of India’s 26 parties are present in the Parliament. “Except MMK and Apna Dal (Camerawadi), all other parties have parliamentary presence. The coordination would be better as this alliance was actually formed through ground coordination among various opposition parties in the last 2.5 years,” he said.
An Indian leader said on the condition of anonymity that every step – whether in Parliament or outside – would be taken keeping the elections in mind.
