Leaders of 25 opposition parties under the INDIA bloc met in the national capital on Monday (June 8) and took five key decisions, including writing to the Chief Justice of India over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged "vote loot", while demanding the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-CBSE examination controversy.
Addressing a press conference after the INDIA bloc meeting, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the leaders also demanded that the Union government convenes an all-party meeting to discuss the "precarious current economic situation" in the country, besides unemployment, price rise, issues of farmers and oppressed sections of society.
He said the leaders of the opposition grouping also decided to meet every two months and the next meeting would be held in Hyderabad in August. He said the date would be fixed at a later date. "A total of 25 parties participated in the INDIA bloc meeting and all the leaders aired their views. We have expressed our agreement on five issues.
INDIA bloc meeting: Key decisions
- The INDIA bloc decided to write to the Chief Justice of India over concerns related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleged manipulation of electoral rolls, and questions surrounding the fairness of elections. The letter will be submitted shortly.
- Citing several issues affecting millions of students, the alliance unanimously demanded the immediate resignation of the Union Education Minister, alleging that students appearing for examinations such as NEET and CBSE were let down during his tenure.
- The opposition alliance called on the Centre to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the country's economic situation, rising unemployment, inflation, farmers' concerns, and other key public issues.
- It was agreed that all constituent parties of the INDIA bloc would meet once every two months. The next meeting is scheduled to be held in Hyderabad in August.
- The alliance also decided to continue parliamentary coordination during the Monsoon Session, with daily coordination meetings to be held every morning at the office of the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge.
Parties attended INDIA bloc meet
Opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge from the Congress, Mamata Banerjee from the Trinamool Congress, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD, Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, and Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP, besides Left leaders, attended the meeting at the Constitution Club in the national capital.
NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule, CPI(M)'s John Brittas, CPI's D Raja, and leaders of some smaller parties were also part of the deliberations.
Kharge said all the leaders aired their views freely, while Shiv Sena-UBT's Uddhav Thackeray and JMM's Hemant Soren joined the opposition meeting virtually.
The Opposition parties attended the meeting amid a BJP surge in the country in the run-up to the next assembly election cycle in states and the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
The meeting of top opposition leaders comes after a long time, as the last time they met was during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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