Mamata in Patna for Lalu's 'BJP bhagao, desh bachao' rally

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee left for Patna on Saturday evening to attend the historic rally organised by RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday. She will stay at the Governor's House and attend the rally on Sunday afternoon.

The historic rally, "BJP bhagao, desh bachao" is the first of the united Opposition against the BJP. It is also significant as this is the first public rally to be addressed by Lalu Yadav after Nitish Kumar severed his ties and joined hands with the BJP.

Mamata Banerjee is leading the Opposition and over and again she has said that the Opposition should be united to oust the BJP. She was the first leader to criticize the ban of high-value notes in November, 2016. Within half-an-hour after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the ban, she had reacted sharply and said it would affect the country's GDP.

Her apprehensions came true and many leading economists of the country and abroad also criticized the Centre's note ban. She has also criticized implementation of the GST in haste and termed it as one "of the biggest scams."

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has launched "BJP Quit India" movement all over the state from August 9. Banerjee also attended a meeting of the opposition leaders held in New Delhi recently. She has also met Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi and discussed how the opposition parties can be united against the BJP.

Political experts all over the country are anxiously waiting for Sunday's rally. There is apprehension that the Centre will hold the Lok Sabha elections in 2018 instead of 2019.

The rally will be attended by veteran Congress leaders Gulam Nabi Azad and C P Joshi. Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav will be one of the star attractions.

Tarique Anwar of NCP and Chowdhury Jayant Singh of RLD are likely to address the rally too. Sudhakar Reddy of CPI will attend the meeting along with two former Chief Ministers of Jharkhand — Hemant Soren and Babulal Marandi. Leaders from DMK, JDS and RSP are also likely to attend the meeting.