Rise above compulsions, winning 2024 election ultimate goal: Sonia

New Delhi: In a major political move aimed at building a consensus to make a 'united force' to take on BJP in 2024 general elections, the Congress on Friday held a meeting of all like-minded Opposition parties.

The meeting, which was chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, is an attempt to give a 'legitimate shape' to a united Opposition force to take on the BJP as in total 19 Opposition parties, including TMC, NCP, DMK, Shiv Sena, JMM and Left, were present in the meeting. Surprisingly, Aam Aadmi Party didn't attend the meeting.

At the meeting, Sonia Gandhi urged Opposition parties to "plan systematically" for the 2024 national election and "rise above compulsions" to work unitedly as there was no other option.

"We all have our compulsions, but clearly, a time has come when the interests of our nation demand that we rise above them," the Congress president said at the meet.

"The 2024 polls is 'the ultimate goal'. This is a challenge, but together we can and must rise to it because there is simply no alternative to working cohesively together," Gandhi said.

The Congress president further urged Opposition parties to begin to plan with the single-minded objective of giving to our country a government that believes in the values of the Freedom Movement and in the principles and provisions of our Constitution.

Hailing the Opposition unity in Monsoon Session, Gandhi said, "The session was marked by the determined unity that all Opposition parties demonstrated for over 20 days in both the houses. We functioned in a coordinated manner with daily discussions among our floor leaders."

"It was entirely due to the Opposition parties that the Constitutional Amendment Bill was passed to restore the long-standing rights of states to identify and notify OBCs.

The government had erred three years back and as you well know this Bill was required to rectify that mistake and a subsequent ruling of the Supreme Court," she said.

Meanwhile, leaders of 19 political parties said they will organise joint protests and demonstrations across the country from September 20 to 30 even as they urged the people of the country to save India for a better tomorrow.

After a virtual meeting of the Opposition parties, the leaders also put out an 11-point charter of demands before the government.

"We will jointly organise protest actions all over the country from 20th to 30th September, 2021," they said in a statement.

The leaders said the forms of these public protest actions will be decided by the respective state units of their parties, depending on the concrete conditions of the Covid regulations and protocols in the states.

The leaders also strongly condemned the manner in which the Centre and the ruling BJP disrupted the Monsoon Session of Parliament, refusing to discuss the alleged illegal usage of the Pegasus military spyware to conduct unauthorised surveillance, a repeal of three "anti-farmer" laws, the gross mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and price rise as also the spiralling unemployment.

All these and many other issues affecting the country and its people were deliberately ignored by the government, they alleged.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Opposition leaders said his Independence Day address did not focus on a single issue concerning people's miseries.

Earlier during the meeting, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee urged Opposition party leaders to set up a 'core committee' for better coordination in regard to addressing issues faced by the country currently. Banerjee also raised some key issues during the meeting, including vaccine for all, repealing of farm laws and withdrawal of unprecedented hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas among other things.

She urged to keep personal interests aside and work together for a larger cause.

"Forget who is the leader, let's keep our personal interests aside. People of India will lead," she was stated to have maintained during the meeting.

According to political experts, such a meeting is a way forward to create a consensus among all Opposition parties about the leadership issue as in 2019 Lok Sabha election, Opposition parties were not 'united' that helped BJP win by a thumping majority.

In 2004, almost all the like-minded Opposition parties, including the Left, had formed a post-poll alliance. Similarly, on the same lines, the parties are getting together to stitch a pre-poll alliance with Congress at the 'helm of affairs'. The meetings of Opposition parties anchored by Congress is part of poll strategist Prashant Kishore's 'mission' to form a non-BJP government at the Centre.

The other parties that attended the meeting include NC, RJD, AIUDF, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Loktantrik Janata Dal, JDS, RLD, RSP, Kerala Congress Mani, PDP and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).