"We have faith that the joint meeting of opposition parties is going to be a game changer in national politics," stated AICC General Secretary and Rajya Sabha Member K.C. Venugopal.
"This is our first victory. The parliament session will begin soon and the strategy will be discussed to expose the BJP government. This is going to be a game changer meeting," he said.
Addressing a joint press conference in Bengaluru on Monday ahead of the meeting of opposition parties with Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh, he stated that the meeting which will be held on Tuesday will discuss prominent issues. 26 political parties are taking part in the event and discussion would be held on a plethora of issues, he said.
This is not a federation of one party. All parties are coming together to form a federation and a decision will be taken on giving the appropriate name for the federation as well, it won't be finalised in one meeting. The parties which are not part of UPA are also in the federation, he explained.
The second meeting of the opposition leaders is going to take place on July 18. The first meeting which was held in Patna on June 23 was successful. The meeting will commence from 11 a.m. onwards. The meeting will be attended by 26 political parties, he explained.
"We are meeting to achieve one common goal. There is a need to protect the fundamental rights. The BJP is attempting to subdue the voice of the opposition. The CBI and ED are used as means to hush up opposition. The political development in Maharashtra is also part of this development," Venugopal maintained.
"The programme and meeting is not organised just for power. All the leaders are meeting to discuss the problems of the people. Manipur violence is taking place for 75 days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not made any attempt to solve the crisis of Manipur. The people of the nation are bearing the brunt of unemployment and inflation," he explained.
Attacking JD (S), Venugopal stated, "We welcome all parties which believe in secularism and oppose dictatorship. But, some regional parties have proved themselves in the last assembly elections on what their stand is in this regard." When asked about whether the JD (S) party is invited to the meeting, he said, anyone who opposes dictatorship can join hands and there is no need to give invitations to them separately, he quipped.
(With inputs from IANS)
