When asked about media reports saying, "Congress is not in the race of Prime Ministerial face", TMC MP Shatabdi Roy said, "Then we would like Mamata Banerjee to be."
Lashing out at the 26-like minded parties for not inviting All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the two-day opposition meeting concluded in Bengaluru on Tuesday, party leader Waris Pathan said that the "so called" secular parties are treating them as "political untouchables".
Sources said that the name INDIA was proposed to everyone in an informal meeting on Monday. Suggestions were sought on the name from all opposition leaders and later on Tuesday everyone agreed to it.
After BJP and JDS questioned the propriety of asking officers to serve leaders attending a political event, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the assignments were according to the protocol.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said he will air his views on the second Opposition meeting in Bengaluru, on Wednesday, adding that he was caught up with governance work and could not follow the minutes of the huddle in Congress-ruled Karnataka.
The development came as top leaders of 26 Opposition parties from across the country met in Bengaluru on Tuesday to discuss a united strategy to take on the ruling NDA alliance at the Centre, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
While speaking on the same, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol Thirumavalavan said that the name was proposed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Bharatiya Janata Party's ally party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) president and Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora on Tuesday said that the opposition will not be able to fight against NDA in the next year's Lok Sabha polls.
The first opposition meeting which was held in Bihar’s Patna on June 23 saw the participation of 16 political parties, while the second meeting, convened in Karnataka’s Bengaluru, concluded with the participation of 26 parties.
The second and concluding day of the opposition unity meeting in Bengaluru was held, with 26 like-minded parties closing ranks with a common aim of taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the next year's Lok Sabha polls.