New Delhi Bureau. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has invited all MPs of the INDIA bloc to his residence for high tea at 4 pm today (Tuesday), in what is being seen as a show of opposition unity a day after the bloc’s march to the Supreme Court.
According to the invitation, a joint press conference of INDIA bloc leaders will be held in the afternoon, before the tea — at which the opposition is expected to lay out its next course of action in its campaign against the Election Commission over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and “vote theft”.
What is on today’s schedule
MPs of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been invited to 5, Sunehri Bagh Road in New Delhi at 4 pm. Apart from the MPs, representatives of civil society and student organisations have also been invited to the high tea.
The afternoon’s joint press conference is where the bloc’s senior leaders will present a collective position — and possibly announce the next phase of the campaign against the Election Commission.
Backdrop: yesterday’s march
The development comes a day after a major opposition mobilisation. On 12 October, Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led INDIA bloc leaders on a march from Connaught Place-Barakhamba Road to the Supreme Court. Eleven opposition leaders have also filed a petition in the apex court over alleged irregularities in the SIR and “vote theft” charges. Thanking those who joined the march, Rahul Gandhi had said the people of the country cannot be intimidated and the opposition will not step back.
BJP’s counter-campaign in Assam
Meanwhile, the BJP in Assam has announced peaceful rallies at district headquarters from 13 to 31 October against Rahul Gandhi. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said the rallies will oppose the Congress’s attempts to put pressure on constitutional institutions and its stand against the SIR.
What next
The afternoon’s joint press conference could see the INDIA bloc announce the next phase of its campaign against the Election Commission. The evening high tea is being read as a display of opposition solidarity — at a time when the opposition has kept up its attack on the Centre and the Election Commission over the electoral process.
