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

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. Those criticising the bloc are anti-India, Thackeray told party workers at an event here.

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.

Addressing his party workers at an event here, Thackeray said the opposition parties have come together to crush dictatorship. He said Sena (UBT) has got a respectable place in the alliance.

Those criticizing us are anti-India. Even if it is Mehbooba Mufti, we have come together to protect the country. We don't want any dictator to take birth in the country, he added.

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.