Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], June 7 (ANI): Union Minister Raj Bhushan Choudhary on Sunday said that the INDIA alliance meeting is a “self-serving attempt” and stems from the “frustration” of the opposition parties to remain relevant after performing badly in the recently concluded assembly polls.
Speaking to reporters, Choudhary said, “The INDIA Alliance meeting is a self-serving attempt by opposition parties to save their positions and relevance. They are all coming to a single platform as they think that the people of the country have rejected them. They are doing all this because of frustration.”
The INDIA bloc meeting is expected to bring together leaders of multiple opposition parties in the national capital, including representatives of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), with discussions likely to focus on post-election strategy following the recently concluded Assembly polls in four states and one Union Territory.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and the party’s National General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee are expected to participate, according to sources.
Meanwhile, intensifying his attack on the Congress amid widening strains within the INDIA bloc, DMK leader and Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Udhayanidhi Stalin, earlier alleged that the party had “betrayed” the DMK by extending support to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) after the Assembly elections and said such actions would not be forgotten by the party.
Addressing a thanksgiving meeting in the Chepauk-Triplicane constituency on Thursday, Udhayanidhi Stalin said the DMK “will never forget” what it considers the Congress’s betrayal, adding that even elected Congress MLAs had not maintained contact with the party leadership.”
“DMK will never forget the betrayal of Congress. Even the winning MLAs of Congress have not met our leader. Congress has betrayed us by supporting them (TVK),” he said, referring to the Congress’s post-poll support to TVK, which has triggered discontent within DMK ranks.
The remarks come amid a growing strain between the DMK and Congress, following Congress’s support for TVK to form a new government in Tamil Nadu.
This decision officially dissolved the Congress party’s two-decade-long alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
Meanwhile, due to this rift, the DMK has decided to skip the INDIA bloc meeting scheduled for June 8 in New Delhi. The party on Thursday cited “hurt sentiments” among its cadre as the reason for its absence.
The party said its workers feel deeply affected by what it termed the Congress’s “betrayal” after the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, despite contesting the polls as part of the DMK-led alliance and winning five seats.
The DMK said it would, however, continue to raise issues concerning national welfare along with other opposition parties, even as its ties with Congress remain under strain. (ANI)
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