Even as opposition parties are scheduled to meet in Patna on Friday, June 23, Delhi CM and AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal asking the Congress to make its stand clear on the ordinance issue prior to the meeting had led to the BJP questioning the opposition "unity" ahead of the meeting. On Friday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking on AAP's demand on the ordinance, said that Congress will take a call on the ordinance topic before the parliament session.
Kharge makes Congress stand on ordinance clear
Mallikarjun Kharge said that ordinance is not an issue to be discussed outside. He said that ordinance is an issue that is to be discussed inside the parliament and not outside. Kharge added that opposing the ordinance outside has no point and that even Kejriwal knows it. "Don't know why this ordinance issue is being advertised so much outside," said Congress president. "Instead of speaking now, we will take a call before the parliament session begins," Kharge said at the end of his reply.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi both reached Patna, Bihar and were received by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
AAP's ordinance 'ultimatum'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP had raised question marks over the opposition unity a day before the scheduled meeting in Patna by indicating that AAP might give the meeting a miss if Congress doesn't make its stand clear on the issue of Delhi ordinance.
BJP mocks opposition unity
This gave the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Bihar a chance to hit out at CM Nitish Kumar. BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Modi, mocked the opposition's attempt at unity by suggesting that each of the heads of various political parties who will gather for the meeting in Patna are PM aspirants and that there was no consensus among the parties themselves as to who would be the joint face of the opposition.
JDU and RJD confident that meeting will give results
Meanwhile, the JDU and RJD including Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav had said that the combined experience of the opposition leaders who will gather in Patna was much higher than PM Modi and that the opposition coming together would surely pose a huge challenge to the BJP in Centre ahead of the 2024 general elections.
