Leaders of 18 Oppn parties vow to fight against BJP

Leaders of at least 18 opposition parties met at the residence of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge here on Monday and alleged that the BJP-led government is destroying democracy. They also decided to continue with their campaign against the Narendra Modi government. Among the parties that were represented at the meeting, which was followed by dinner, were the DMK, NCP, JD(U), BRS, CPI(M), CPI, AAP, MDMK, KC, TMC, RSP, RJD, NC, IUML, VCK, SP and JMM. The leaders raised the issue of their demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into a controversy surrounding industrialist Gautam Adani’s business group as also former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a defamation case and resolved to fight against the designs of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) together. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) skipped the meeting in protest of Gandhi’s remarks against Veer Savarkar. Sena leader Sanjay Raut said they would not attend the meeting.