Mamata Banerjee 'not aware' of next INDIA bloc meet, Sanjay Raut reacts
The December 6 INDIA bloc meeting will be held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said the meeting by the Opposition's INDIA bloc, scheduled for tomorrow, was “not called in a hurry” and that it was planned “even before the declaration of (assembly) election results.” His statement came after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced skipping the meeting, claiming that she was not made aware of it in advance.
"This meeting was not called in a hurry. Even before the declaration of election results, this meeting was being planned...Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Uddhav Thackeray about the meeting 2 days before the election results were announced...Uddhav Thackeray will reach Delhi tomorrow and take part in the meeting," the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP said.
Also read: INDIA leaders push Congress on seat talks
Earlier, while addressing the media, CM Banerjee said she would have rescheduled her itinerary if she had the information about the meeting. "I have got no information so I kept a programme in North Bengal. If we had the information, we wouldn't have scheduled those programmes. We would have definitely gone (for the meeting), but we have not received any information," she said. The participation of any other TMC member in the meeting is still unclear at this point.
Meanwhile, the BJP took the opportunity to slam the Opposition alliance and said the West Bengal CM has realised that “there is no future in INDIA bloc.”
“Mamata Banerjee has understood that there is no future of the INDIA alliance that's why she is skipping the meeting,” West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said.
The December 6 meeting will be held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi, where all 28 members of the coalition are likely to chalk out the final strategy to take on the ruling BJP in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The main agenda of the meeting is likely to be surrounding the sharing of seats.
At least two members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Monday asked the Congress to immediately start seat-sharing talks for the 2024 elections as constituents of the Opposition bloc mounted pressure and insisted that proceedings in the ongoing winter session not be disrupted on any issue to allow participation in debates.
The INDIA bloc had convened three meetings so far – Patna on June 23; Bengaluru on July 17-18; Mumbai on August 31 and September 1.