Win people's trust: Uddhav Thackeray to opposition parties

At the virtual meeting called upon by Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray urged the opposition parties to win the people's trust and called upon them to stay strong and united.

"During the meeting, Uddhav Thackeray stressed that the parties must win people's trust. As of today, there is no lust for power among the opposition parties, but even when the chair of power is in sight, people should be able to trust the opposition parties with the belief that they will remain strong and united," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut quoted Uddhav Thackeray as saying during the meeting.

Raut, the Sena's Rajya Sabha member, said that Sonia Gandhi had personally called up all the leaders and requested them to join the meeting.

The meeting was attended by 19 opposition leaders. Though SP leader Akhilesh Yadav did not attend the meeting, he wrote to the Congress leader explaining his absence.

Besides uniting against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, several other issues like Pegasus snooping, issues concerning farmers, price rise and attack on democracy figured at the virtual meeting, Raut said.