At INDIA bloc meet, Cong Prez Kharge extends offer to like-minded parties

New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday thanked all the partners of the INDIA bloc for contesting the Lok Sabha elections unitedly against BJP and said that the opposition coalition welcomes all parties that share a fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution.
Kharge’s remarks came soon after Opposition INDIA bloc leaders began crucial deliberations at the Congress chief’s residence in New Delhi, exploring the possibilities of government formation and the alliance’s future strategy.
“The mandate is decisively against Mr Modi, against him and the substance and style of his politics. It is a huge political loss for him personally apart from being a clear moral defeat as well. However, he is determined to subvert the will of the people,” he said.
“The INDIA alliance welcomes all parties which share its fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble to our Constitution and to its many provisions for economic, social and political justice,” the Congress chief said in his opening remarks.
Thanking the INDIA bloc partners, he said, “I welcome all INDIA alliance partners. We fought well, fought unitedly, fought resolutely.”
In a joint statement issued after the key meeting, India bloc constituents thanked people of India for an overwhelming support and said that the opposition coalition will take appropriate steps at the appropriate time to realise the people’s desire not to be ruled by the BJP’s government.
“The constituents of the India bloc thank the people of India for the overwhelming support received by our alliance. The people’s mandate has given a befitting reply to the BJP and their politics of hate, corruption and deprivation. This is a political and moral defeat of Prime Minister, Sh Narendra Modi,” the statement read.
“The India bloc will continue to fight against the fascist rule of the BJP led by Sh. Modi. We will take appropriate steps at the appropriate time to realise the people’s desire not to be ruled by the BJP’s government,” it added.
Top Congress leaders, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also attended the meeting.
Opposition leaders attending the meeting included Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and T R Baalu of the DMK, Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren and Kalpana Soren of the JMM, Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule of the NCP-SP, Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav (SP).
Other leaders including Abhishek Banerjee (TMC), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-UBT), Omar Abdullah (JKNC), Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), D Raja (CPI), Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha (AAP) and N K Premchandran (RSP) were also present in the meeting.