Oppn bloc INDIA must give proper agenda to country: Sena (UBT)

Mumbai:A day after the INDIA alliance meeting culminated in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday said the fabric stitched by its constituents will be futile if the opposition bloc does not give a proper agenda to the country.

In an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said the issue of seat-sharing should be resolved peacefully in every state.

The INDIA grouping on Friday vowed to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls together “as far as possible”, asserting seat-sharing arrangements in states will be concluded at the earliest in a “collaborative spirit of give-and-take”.

As many as 63 representatives from 28 political parties took part in the third meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) alliance at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai.

The editorial said that the Left and the ruling Trinamool Congress have differences in West Bengal, but the two parties took part in the INDIA alliance meeting.

The same is the case in Kerala where the Congress and CPI(M) are arch-rivals. The Aam Aadmi Party has shown its willingness to hold discussions with the Congress in Punjab and Delhi, while there are no major differences in Maharashtra in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), it said.

The MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and the NCP group with Sharad Pawar, hosted the two-day programme here.

Seeking to highlight more collaborative initiatives, the editorial said that in Jammu and Kashmir, the Mehbooba Mufti-led People’s Democratic Party and the National Conference headed by Farooq Abdullah have come together.

“All these threads (parties) have been woven into an indestructible fabric, but it will be futile if no proper agenda is kept before people,” it said.

If "dictatorship" has to be fought with, then all 28 parties must have a free dialogue, it said.

The party also targeted the Centre for calling a special session of Parliament, from September 18 to 22, which coincides with the Ganesh festival celebrated with much fanfare in Maharashtra.