Opposition to show strength in South
Having shown some kind of ‘unity’ in Delhi a few days ago to discuss a consensus candidate for forthcoming presidential polls, the national opposition parties are once again trying to come together, this time in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai and Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur.
Congress is leading the bunch of parties, said to be around 12, for a gathering to mark the 94th birthday of M Karunanidhi in Chennai on Saturday. Karunanidhi is also completing 60 years in public life after quitting film industry. Although the Saturday’s grand show is being organised by DMK for its ageing doyen, Congress Vice President’s presence is being seen as an important indication, post the death of Jayalalithaa and the resultant changing political equations in the TN, where BJP is trying to befriend the AIDMK.
Besides Gandhi who was in Telengana on Friday, the foundation day of the new state, other non-BJP heavyweights who are likely to be there in Chennai include NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Pudducherry CM Narayan Sami, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, TMC leader Derek O’Brian, and others on the invitation of Karunanidhi’s son and DMK leader K M Stalin.
Sources said that opposition parties are also gathering the next day (June 4th) in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district to press for special package for the newly carved state. "All those parties who had supported a private members bill for a special package during the bifurcation of the southern state are being rallied to put pressure on the Narendra Modi Government", a well-placed source told the FPJ.
When Telengana and Andhra Pradesh came into being this month four years ago, the UPA Government was at the Center and opposition leaders like Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley in Rajya Sabha had demanded special package for 10 years but the NDA government after coming to power forgot the demand, a Congress leader alleged.
Interestingly, Congress has no representation in the Parliament from AP and the incumbent Chandrababu Naidu government is also not reminding NDA government of its leaders’ demand in Rajya Sabha for the coastal state’s development. Sensing the people’s mood Congress is trying to make use of the situation. The Chennai and Guntur congregation of opposition leaders in the South is being seen by political observers here as one more step towards ''opposition unity'' before 2019 general elections and next month’s presidential polls. In Guntur leaders from SP, RJD and other parties are also expected to be present, though no confirmation was available from its top leaders.