Half a million attend opposition rally to remove PM Modi
India’s major opposition parties come together in a show of strength with an eye on general elections due by May.
New Delhi: India’s opposition parties have drawn half a million supporters to the eastern city of Kolkata for the largest show of force yet against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of national elections due by May. The massive “Unite India” rally held on Saturday brought together leaders of over 20 national and regional parties – many of whom have previously fought against each other during elections – to rail against Mr Modi and his ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“The Modi government is past its expiry date,” said Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal state.
Her government, which organised the rally, had suggested four million would attend, but Kolkata Police chief Rajeev Kumar said 500,000 showed up in the eastern city. Mr Modi, who was inspecting military hardware in Gujarat state on Saturday, accused the opposition of acting in self-interest.
“The alliance is not against me, it’s against India,” he said, as quoted by the Hindustan Times newspaper.
‘Remove BJP, save democracy’
Mr Modi, whose BJP won a landslide vic- tory in 2014 and now seeking another term, faces rising discontent over unemployment and economic inequality.
The BJP was defeated in three key state elections in December to the Congress, the main opposition party.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi did not attend the rally but sent party representatives. His mother Sonia Gandhi, the party’s former president, said it was “an important attempt to galvanise leaders to fight the Modi government”. Leaders of the Left parties were also missing from Saturday’s line-up, reflecting tensions among opposition parties on who would be their prime ministerial candidate against Modi.