Oppn parties agree that assault on institutions like RBI must be stopped: Rahul

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 10

There is consensus among opposition parties that the assault on institutions such as the RBI must be stopped, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Monday following the resignation of the central bank's governor Urjit Patel.

Gandhi's remarks came after top leaders of over a dozen opposition parties met here as part of attempts to forge a front to take on the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The much-anticipated Opposition meeting to discuss 2019 Lok Sabha election strategy was held at the Parliamentary House annexe in the National Capital.

The meeting was facilitated by N Chandrababu Naidu, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh CM.

Chandrababu Naidu made a PowerPoint at the meeting flagging various issues. Stating that Modi is the first PM of democratic India to not hold a single press conference in the four years of his rule, he cited “PM’s governance failures on every front from jobs and MSP to Rafale deal and farmers’ insurance policy”.

He accused the PM of promoting Gujarat-cadre officers in plum central government posts.

Naidu also flagged the issue of institutional crisis under the BJP-led NDA government talking of the ongoing standoff between the Centre and RBI, besides flagging gaps on MSP, rising fuel prices and inflation.

Following leaders attended the meeting: TDP’s Naidu; Congress’ Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot; TMC chief Mamata Banerjee; AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal; NCP’s Sharad Pawar; NC’s Farooq Abdullah; DMK’s MK Stalin and M Kanimozhi; AIUDF’s Badruddin Ajmal; RJD’s Tejaswi Yadav; CPM’a Sitaram Yechury; CPI’s D Raja; and former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi.

Upendra Kushwaha, who resigned from the council of ministers today, didn’t attend the meeting. — With PTI inputs