Leaders Of Several Opposition Parties Meet To Coordinate Strategy

Leaders of several like-minded opposition parties met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday to coordinate their strategy in both houses. Sources said the opposition MPs are likely to form a human chain around the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Parliament House complex, sending out a message for "protecting democracy" in the country. Among the parties whose leaders attended the meeting included Congress, DMK, NCP, SP, RJD, BRS, CPM, CPI, SS, JDU, JMM, MDMK, AAP, VCK, and IUML.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose democracy remark in London has created a political row, is likely to attend Parliament today, after his return from abroad yesterday. Meanwhile, several opposition MPs have given notices in both houses to discuss the Adani issue and order a JPC probe into the matter. Proceedings in both houses of Parliament have remained disrupted since the second leg of the budget session began on Monday. The BJP has stepped up the ante against Gandhi, saying India's democracy is not in peril but the Congress party has been brought to "political perish" by the people. The Congress has escalated its offensive, accusing the government of "undermining and weakening" democracy by stalling Parliament to save a businessman.

On Wednesday, the Congress, along with several other opposition parties, took out a protest march from Parliament House to hand over a complaint to the Enforcement Directorate on the Adani issue. However, they were stopped at Vijay Chowk by the police, who said prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC were in effect in the area. Gandhi, during his recent UK visit, had alleged that the structures of Indian democracy were under "brutal attack" and there was a full-scale assault on the country's institutions.