The Big Opposition Unity Meeting Postponed

The big Opposition unity meeting which was supposed to be held on June 12 has been rescheduled to June 23.

The date of the meeting has been advanced following a request from Congress and the DMK, according to a report in NDTV. It is going to be chaired by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

It is reported that the grand old party stated that Rahul Gandhi, who is on a 10-day trip to the US, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will not be attending it. The former Congress chief is expected to return to India on July 15.

The meeting is seen as an attempt to forge the Opposition party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Of late, Nitish has taken the lead in speaking to several regional satraps besides the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Left to forge unity among the opposition's ranks.

He has held separate meetings with leaders of many parties, including Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and NCP's Sharad Pawar.

However, senior BJP leader and MP Sushil Modi had taken a swipe at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying his efforts are merely aimed at keeping him in headlines as the balloon of their unity exercise has already been punctured.

"The balloon of opposition units efforts has been punctured by the likes of Banerjee and (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge. Kumar may keep trying as much as he can, it is clear that the opposition unity is impractical. He had long been out of headlines and now he is doing all this to remain in media," Modi told PTI.