Sonia Gandhi to lead ‘united’ Opposition on December 27

New Delhi: After the much-flaunted Opposition unity took a hit following  Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the last day of the Parliament session, the 16 parties are coming together once again to show that their unity is intact. This time, however, Congress president Sonia Gandhi is herself expected to lead the charge. On December 27, the parties plan to hold a discussion on demonetisation followed by a joint press conference, which is expected to be addressed among others by Mrs Gandhi.

The 16-party conglomerate will include the SP, BSP, JD(U), JD(S) and the Left parties.  All these parties had been upset when Mr Gandhi had met the PM on the morning of the last day of the winter session in order to discuss farmers’ issues, even as they were supposed to meet President Pranab Mukherjee to complain against not being allowed to speak in Parliament.

Following Mr Gandhi’s meeting with the Prime Minister, many parties which include SP, BSP, JD(U), had boycotted the march to the President’s house. BSP supremo Mayawati had led the protest against Mr Gandhi’s meeting the PM, arguing that it was an issue connected with Uttar Pradesh, Congress vice-president had no right to appropriate it. Samajwadi Party, her arch-rival in Uttar Pradesh, had also supported her and had boycotted the meeting with the president. Others who did not attend the meeting with the President included the Left parties, NCP and DMK. Sources told this newspaper that the earlier plan was to hold a joint press conference against demonetisation at the Congress headquarters itself, but later it was decided to shift it to the Constitution Club after some of the parties raised objections. The Trinamul Congress, which has been leading the charge against demonetisation along with the Congress, will also attend the joint press conference.

Though the joint press conference to show the Opposition unity was apparently being held as an initiative of the Congress, the Trinamul supremo, Ms Mamata Banerjee has also emerged as one of the leading faces to take on the Prime Minister on the issue of demonetisation. Keeping her eye on the 2019 general elections, Ms Banerjee, adopting an aggressive stance had held meetings to take on the Prime Minister at his home turf in Varanasi. By agreeing to participate in the joint press conference, the JD(U) has also given a signal that it was not in a mood to disturb the “Opposition unity”. There were rumblings within the JD(U) after the Bihar chief minister and party chief Nitish Kumar stepped forward to support the Prime Minister’s demonetisation move.