Non- NDA parties dismiss tieup talk
Cong brings regional satraps under one roof
If the Congress by inviting regional satraps attempted to signal the beginning of a grand alliance against Mr Narendra Modi and the BJP by inviting them to an event commemorating Jawaharlal Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary, the regional heavyweights, which ranged from the Trinamul Congress ( TMC), JD( S), JD( U) and even the Left, dismissed any such move at this juncture.
Mamata Banerjee, H. D. Deve Gowda, Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury, Sharad Yadav, D. Raja and D. P. Tripathi were seated in the front row at the opening ceremony of the twoday conference that was addressed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai among other leaders.
Except the BJP and its allies, most of the political parties were represented in the event as the Congress tried to signal coming together of all parties to take on the now mighty BJP. Officially, the Congress said the presence of these leaders cannot be looked at from a political prism.
Ms Banerjee, the West Bengal chief minister whose TMC withdrew support to the UPA- 2 government in September 2012, and most of the Opposition leaders were present through the inaugural ceremony that lasted for nearly two hours. CPI leader D. Raja was seated next to Ms Banerjee for quite sometime and was chatting with her.
Mr Karat, who, along with his senior party colleague Mr Yechury, was present at the event, dismissed the presence of the leaders as beginning of a new grand alliance. “Nothing more should be read into our participation... our party recognises the enormous contribution of Nehru to the making of a secular Indian state and his role in establishing a parliamentary democratic system. This is a legacy we should all commemorate,” he said.
Mr Raja also spoke in a similar vein, saying the CPI was represented at the event through him as the party appreciates and acknowledges the contributions of Pandit Nehru in building modern India.
The Congress’ move of inviting regional satraps and Left leaders was seen as an attempt to bring together all like- minded parties against a resurgent BJP, especially after the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections. Invitations for the event had been sent to almost all political parties, except the BJP and its allies.