INDIA bloc logo to be unveiled at Opposition alliance's 3rd meeting in Mumbai
Common minimum programme discussion on cards at event
Mumbai (PTI): The third meeting of the opposition bloc INDIA will begin here on Thursday to discuss its strategy to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections due next year and inclusion of new allies.
Along with talks on strategy and inclusion of new allies, unveiling of the INDIA bloc logo and discussion on the common minimum programme (CMP) will be the highlight of the two-day deliberations.
As many as 63 representatives from 28 political parties will attend the meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Thursday and Friday at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai.
The third meeting of the opposition bloc is hosted by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the three-party alliance of the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar.
The alliance leaders are getting together for the third round of the brainstorming session here, after Patna and Bengaluru, to chalk out their common campaign strategy to take on the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The alliance would announce a coordination committee, which could be of 11 members from principal opposition parties.
The opposition alliance is also likely to hold discussions on whether to have a convenor or not and whether there will be some sub-groups to handle seat sharing, agitational joint programmes and communication strategy.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah, former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and CPI general secretary D Raja have already arrived in Mumbai.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will arrive on Thursday.
An informal meeting of all the leaders will take place followed by a dinner hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, where the visiting leaders will get to savour the traditional Maharashtrian food, including 'Puran Poli', and also a mix of North and South Indian dishes.
Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, who is heading the organising committee of the INDIA alliance meet, on Wednesday said the meeting in Mumbai was significant as Maharashtra has shown the country a way forward in the independence movement, industrial and social revolutions.
He said the INDIA alliance has developmental agenda and has taken on the challenge to stop fascist forces.
The opposition INDIA bloc has exuded confidence that it would provide a formidable alternative to bring political change in the country and asserted that it has several prime ministerial faces against BJP's only one.
The opposition alliance has also expanded its ambit to 28 parties by including two regional outfits - the Peasants and Workers Party of India (PWP), a Marxist political party in Maharashtra, and another regional outfit.
Mamata Banerjee on her arrival in Mumbai tied Rakhi on Thackeray and Amitabh Bachchan on Wednesday.
To a query on who will be the INDIA alliance PM candidate, Mamata Banerjee said, "India will be our PM face. Our primary concern is to save the country," she said.
Addressing a press conference here, NCP leader Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said he has confidence that the opposition alliance will provide a formidable alternative to bring about a political change in the country.
He said there has been no discussion on seat sharing within the INDIA alliance.
Former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the alliance of opposition parties belonging to different ideologies has the common objective of protecting democracy and 'Bharat Mata'.
On the INDIA alliance PM face, Thackeray said, "We have a lot of choices, the question is what choice the BJP has."
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4% quota for Muslim contractors: BJP to challenge K'taka's 'unconstitutional move' in court
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Mar 17 (PTI): The BJP on Monday termed the Karnataka government’s proposal to provide four per cent reservation to Muslims in government contracts an "unconstitutional misadventure" and said it will oppose the move at all levels, including challenging it in court, until it is rolled back.
The ruling Congress in Karnataka and the BJP hit out at each other over the issue in the Assembly.
Earlier on Friday, the Cabinet approved an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, reserving four per cent of contracts for Muslims in civil works valued up to Rs two crore and goods/services contracts up to Rs one crore.
"The BJP firmly opposes the proposed unconstitutional move and demands that the Siddaramaiah government immediately roll it back," BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who represents the Bangalore South Lok Sabha seat, told a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
He alleged that the Siddaramaiah-led government’s decision was a "calculated move" to appease Muslims, "at the direction and patronage of the Congress top leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi."
"This patently unconstitutional and prima facie illegal act will be challenged in court. The BJP will fight against the move both inside the Assembly and on the streets. We will also raise the issue in Parliament and protest outside it," Surya said.
The BJP MP said that the Karnataka government’s move is a threat to national integrity, unity, and sovereignty.
"We will fight and oppose this in the courtroom. We will take the fight to the people of Karnataka. Until this unconstitutional move is rolled back, the BJP’s fight will continue," he added.
Meanwhile, in the Karnataka Assembly, the ruling Congress and the BJP once again sparred on Monday over the budgetary provision of four per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts.
The Congress rejected the BJP’s allegation that religion-based reservation is "against constitutional provisions."
Defending the reservation, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Buddhists are citizens of this country.
"We have concerns for minorities and backward communities. When the BJP says it wants to take everyone along, let it appoint Christian and Muslim ministers. Only then does BJP state president B Y Vijayendra have the right to speak about equality. Let him read the state anthem written by Kuvempu—then he will understand what makes Karnataka a peaceful garden," Shivakumar told reporters.
Hitting back at Shivakumar, Vijayendra said that it was the BJP government, not the Congress, that had appointed Dr A P J Abdul Kalam as the President of India.
"We appointed Najma Heptulla, Justice Abdul Nazeer, and Arif Mohammed Khan as governors. Musician Ustad Bismillah Khan was bestowed with the Bharat Ratna by the BJP government," Vijayendra told reporters.
According to him, Congress's appeasement politics is not new.
He questioned the Congress party’s concern for Dalits, asking where it was when its MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy’s house was "torched by Muslim hooligans".
The Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, claimed that several Supreme Court judgments have stated that there is no provision in the Constitution for religion-based reservations.
"Yet, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wore a ‘topi’ (skull cap), organised Tipu Jayanti, and introduced Shaadi Bhagya (launched in 2013, it provides financial assistance to economically backward minority women). He gave grants to Muslims beyond what they had asked for. Now, by offering four per cent reservation in contracts to Muslims, the Congress government has made an assault on Hindus," he alleged.
Ashoka argued that there had never been a religion-based contract system in Karnataka, but the government had introduced one, which could lead to conflicts between communities.
In the Karnataka Legislative Council, Leader of the Opposition, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy raised the issue.
He said that religion-based reservation is "not allowed under the Constitution."
"You have granted four per cent reservation to Muslims in contracts. We oppose religion-based reservations. I urge the government through you not to implement it," he stated.
Countering him, Congress MLA B K Hariprasad asserted that the reservation aligns with constitutional provisions.
