Hopeful of constructive opposition meet: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hoped that the opposition meeting in Patna on Friday would be constructive and asserted that the BJP must be defeated in the next Lok Sabha polls to save the country from disaster.

Banerjee, who has been critical of the BJP's "mishandling" of the situation in Manipur, said it is due to the policies of the saffron camp that the northeastern state is on the boil and the convening of the all-party meeting on June 24 was a "late decision".

"Tomorrow is our opposition meeting. We hope it will be good and collective decisions will be taken. I feel that to save the country from disaster, people will vote against the BJP," she told reporters on Thursday.

Top leaders of opposition parties will meet in the Bihar capital to chalk out a roadmap for forming an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Asked about the all-party meeting on Manipur convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on June 24, Banerjee said the Trinamool Congress would be represented by the party's leader in Rajya Sabha, Derek O'Brien.

"It is too late now. I had requested the Centre to allow me to visit Manipur, but I received a letter yesterday informing me about the all-party meeting," she said.

Banerjee said the Centre failed to restore peace in Manipur, where ethnic violence has claimed more than 100 lives.