Mumbai: All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Waris Pathan on Tuesday said that the Opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A is treating AIMIM as ‘political untouchables’.
AIMIM was conspicuously not invited to the two-day Opposition meeting in Bengaluru where the 26 like-minded parties participated, NDTV reported.
‘The so called secular parties did not call us, we are political untouchables for them. There are leaders who were once with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) including Nitish Kumar, Uddhav Thackeray and Mehbooba Mufti. We saw Arvind Kejriwal abusing Congress during the Gujarat Assembly elections, but even he is sitting in Bengaluru. Even we (AIMIM) are putting efforts to defeat BJP in 2024, but they (Opposition parties) are ignoring Asaduddin Owaisi and our party’ he was quoted by ANI as saying.
The two-day meeting concluded on Tuesday resolved to work all parties together to take on the BJP, and formed what it called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or I.N.D.I.A.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge told media that everybody had agreed and then a resolution for the name I.N.D.I.A was passed unanimously.
The name was reportedly proposed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol Thirumavalavan told ANI that the name was accepted after a long discussion.
Rahul Gandhi backed the name arguing why it should be I.N.D.I.A, according to congress leader Supriya Shrinate.
The representatives of the 26 parties decided to set up a 11-member coordination committee, which will oversee various sub-committees.
‘The next opposition meeting will be held in Mumbai; the date will be announced soon. An 11-member coordination committee will be set up. Names of committee members will be announced in Mumbai,’Kharge told the media. Rahul Gandhi said the Lok Sabha polls will be a fight to defend the idea of India.