Of the 14 opposition parties that are part of the decision-making body, only 12 were present at the meeting. Most prominently absent was the Trinamool Congress; whose candidate – Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee was “conveniently” today summoned by the ED for questioning
The INDIA alliance on Wednesday agreed to take up the issue of caste census, Congress leader KC Venugopal said after the bloc’s crucial coordination committee meeting in Delhi earlier in the day.
The committee also decided to “initiate the process of determining seat sharing”, Venugopal said.
“The first public meeting will be held in Bhopal in the first week of October on the issues of price rise, unemployment and corruption of the BJP government,” the statement said.
For seat sharing, state level committees will be formed to hold discussions with the Indian parties of that state.
Out of a total of 14 opposition parties that are part of the decision-making body, only about 12 were present at Wednesday’s meeting. Most prominently absent was the Trinamool Congress; whose candidate – Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee was “conveniently” summoned today by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its probe into alleged irregularities in appointments in government schools.
The absence of the TMC leader was significant as his party had refused to support the bloc’s intention to push the government to conduct a caste census. The Trinamool chief and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had opposed adding this demand to a joint political resolution, according to media reports.
With the TMC leader absent from the meeting, the INDIA alliance decided to push for a caste census now and talk to the party later – a move that will certainly not go down well with Banerjee.
“The parties present at the meeting agreed to take up the issue of caste census. The coordination committee decided to begin the process of determining seat sharing. It was decided that the member parties would hold negotiations and make a decision as soon as possible,” the bloc said.
The INDIA alliance has also formed a subcommittee to select television channels and media outlets on which they will not appear for interviews or panel discussions.
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