INDIA ‘janbandhan’ for national polls, will overcome Shah’s challenge of splitting parties, says Jairam Ramesh
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said the 'INDIA janbandhan' is for fighting national elections and has a "constructive agenda", as he exuded confidence that the
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said the 'INDIA janbandhan' is for fighting national elections and has a "constructive agenda", as he exuded confidence that the group would overcome the challenges facing it, including the "desperate attempts" by Home Minister Amit Shah to break the opposition parties. Also read | BJP’s two-thirds majority bid aimed at scrapping reservation, alleges Congress In an exclusive interview with PTI Videos, Mr. Ramesh said the split in the TMC was a "setback" while the switching of six of the nine MPs of the Shiv Sena (UBT) was something the opposition bloc had not anticipated a couple of months ago. "But it shows the desperation of the Home Minister that he is resorting to these tactics for breaking opposition parties," the Congress general secretary communications said. Noting that the INDIA bloc had a "good meeting" on June 8, Mr. Ramesh said it is a group that has a "constructive agenda" for the economy, for the Centre-State relations, for protecting the Constitution and on foreign policy. "Over the next couple of months, we will have to face challenges," he said. Elaborating on the dynamics of the opposition, Mr. Ramesh pointed out that when the Constitution amendment bill was taken up in Parliament in the last session, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) voted with the opposition.
"You know against the Aam Aadmi Party, we are fighting in Delhi, we are fighting in Gujarat and more importantly we are fighting in Punjab... The CPI(M) and the CPI were with us on the delimitation bill but we fought them tooth and nail in Kerala and we also fought them in West Bengal," he said. "So I think when it comes to the INDIA group, it is for fighting national elections but it so happens that there are partners [in states as well]. For example, we are partners with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, we are partners with the RJD in Bihar, we are partners with the JMM, in fact we are in government with the JMM, in Jharkhand," he said. "Rather than look at the past, I prefer to look at the future. We have challenges, what has happened to the TMC is a setback. Certainly what's happened to the Shiv Sena (UBT) is something that we had not anticipated say a couple of months ago. But it shows the desperation of the Home Minister that he is resorting to these tactics and the strategy for breaking opposition parties," Mr. Ramesh said, exuding confidence that the opposition parties will overcome such challenges. Asked whether Rahul Gandhi is opposition's best bet and whether he possesses all the qualities of a good Prime Minister, Mr. Ramesh said, "The last I know and the last I read, we run a parliamentary system.
The BriefWire