New-born INDIA versus NDA

Bengaluru: Setting the tone for their 2024 Lok Sabha campaign, 26 opposition parties on Tuesday formed a coalition --Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)-- to unitedly take on the ruling NDA with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asserting that the fight will be "between INDIA and Prime Minister Narendra Modi".

Announcing the name of the opposition bloc after a nearly four-hour-long meeting of the 26 parties, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said,"We'll fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unitedly and we will come out with great success."

He said a committee of 11 members will be set up for coordination, and a convenor will be selected at the next meeting in Mumbai. Kharge also said a secretariat will also be set up in Delhi for campaign management of the alliance and specific committees will be formed for separate issues.

Earlier in his opening remarks at the meeting, he said the Congress is not interested in power or the post of prime minister. "Our intention in this meeting is not to gain power for ourselves. It is to protect our Constitution, democracy, secularism and social justice," he said.

"Our alliance will be called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)," Kharge said.

Kharge also said that "there are some differences between us but we have put that behind... We are together in the interest of the country...We'll fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unitedly and we will come out with great success". Kharge also launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Modi, saying he is now trying to bring together parties that had splintered and this shows that "he is afraid of opposition parties". His remarks came just ahead of a meeting of 38 members of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance), including some new entrants.

Uddhav Thackeray said some people say "we are fighting for family", they should know that "the country is our family and we are fighting for our country".

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted "Article 1 of the Indian Constitution. India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.This is the spirit behind the INDIA announced by 26 political parties in Bengaluru today".

In their 'Samuhik Sankalp (joint resolution)' released after the meeting, the opposition parties demanded the implementation of the caste census while asserting that they have come together to defeat the "hatred and violence being manufactured against minorities" as well as "rising crimes against women, Dalits, tribals and Kashmiri Pandits". They also expressed "grave concern" over the "humanitarian tragedy" that has "destroyed" Manipur.

Oppn mantra is 'of, by and for family': Modi

Launching a scathing attack on the Opposition parties, PM Narendra Modi alleged that their mantra is "of, by and for the family". "People are saying that this gathering is to promote 'bhrashtachar' (corruption)." He alleged that the Opposition parties have given a "clean chit" to the DMK despite corruption cases in Tamil Nadu. Modi also upped the ante against the 26 parties and pointed out, "Massive violence took place in West Bengal during recent panchayat elections. But the Left and the Congress kept mum despite attacks on their cadre. The leaders left their activists to die for their own selfish motives."

Seeing these opposition leaders in one frame, people are calling it a symbol of corruption and the Bengaluru meeting, 'Kattar Bhrashtachar Sammelan' (hardcore corruption convention), the PM said. "People have made up their minds to bring our government back to power in 2024," he said. "Democracy means 'of the people, by the people, for the people'. But these dynastic parties have the mantra of 'of the family, by the family, for the family'. For them, their family is first, and the nation is nothing," he said.