Kharge, Rahul to attend Opposition meeting in Patna on June 23

Even as the first meeting of the like-minded opposition parties scheduled for June 12 got cancelled, the Congress on Friday said its president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi will attend the meeting on June 23 in Patna.

Speaking to the media here, Congress general secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal said, "Khargeji and former party chief Rahul Gandhi will attend the opposition meeting in Patna on June 23."

He said, "We have already informed them that both the leaders will attend the meeting."

On several BJP leaders reacting to the first opposition party meeting in Patna on June 23, Venugopal said that "they are frustrated as they know that real fight is coming against them".

The Congress Rajya Sabha MP also said that it is high time to have unity in the opposition to fight against these forces (BJP) who are ruining the country.

Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar has called the meeting of like-minded parties on June 12 in Patna after discussing with the top Congress leadership and meeting and convincing the top leaders of several parties in the last one and half month.

Kumar has been spearheading the campaign to unite all like-minded parties to forge an alliance against the BJP-led NDA for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He had called the first meeting on June 12 in Patna. However, the meeting was cancelled as many leaders, including those from the Congress, DMK and CPI(M) cited other engagements and asked to postpone it to a new date.

After considering the requests, the meeting was postponed to June 23. Kumar, along with his deputy and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, had already met Kharge, Rahul Gandhi in April and then again in May.

Besides the Congress leaders, the Janata Dal(United) leader has also met NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D. Raja, former Uttar Pradesh CM and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Odisha CM and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik, former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and others in a bid to bring all like-minded parties together.