Rahul Gandhi hosts Opposition dinner amid Parliament logjams over SIR issue

At least 50 leaders from 25 opposition political parties under the INDIA bloc gathered at LoP Rahul Gandhi’s Sunehri Bagh residence on Wednesday. The leaders of the parties who gathered at the LoP’s residence include representatives from the Congress, NC, PDP, RLP, SP, RJD, VIP, CPI, CPM, CPML, FB, JMM, TMC, NCP(SP), Shivsena (UBT), DMK, VCK, RSP, IUML, Kerala Congress (M), K Congress (J), MNM, MDMK, KMDK, and PWK.

Congress leader Gandhi hosted the opposition leaders for dinner at his residence amid the ongoing Monsoon Parliament session, which has seen frequent logjams over the SIR issue. It is the first time Lok Sabha LoP Gandhi is hosting this kind of event. Party insiders say the move aims to send a message that the Opposition can gather at his call. Although several big names, including Mamata Banerjee, gave it a miss, Banerjee sent her representatives Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, which also lent weight to Gandhi. While DMK chief MK Stalin personally gave the event a miss, he also sent his representatives TR Balu and Tiruchi Siva to Gandhi’s event.

Gandhi raised the issue of voter theft with the leaders at the event. Insiders also said he will have a detailed discussion on the Vice President’s post with the leaders to get consensus on a mutual candidate. The SIR issue was also discussed at the event. The Opposition has repeatedly urged the government for a discussion on the issue inside Parliament. The repeated pleas from the Opposition are being turned down by the government, including Parliamentary Affairs K Rijiju saying that the matter cannot be discussed in Parliament due to it being “sub judice”.