New Delhi:
The MPs of the INDIA bloc met on Tuesday evening at Rahul Gandhi's residence on Sunahari Bagh Road, to firm up a strategy for the coming days over a high tea. The meeting was the Alliance's show of unity - much like the show of strength they had displayed on the roads of Delhi on Monday.
The unity reflected in the attendance of 22 MPs from the Samajwadi Party and MPs from the Uddhav-led Shiv Sena faction - a key detail given that both these parties had recently faced accusations of absenteeism.
The morale at the meeting was high -- buoyed by Monday's successful protest and the subsequent submission of a memorandum to the Supreme Court. Around 40 round tables were set up, where MPs from different states seated together.
A Samajwadi Party MP told NDTV that he shared a table with Congress MPs from Kerala and discussed the prospect of forming an SP government in Uttar Pradesh. While the remark might have been made in jest, the seating arrangement - mixing leaders from different states - was deliberate, intended to foster discussion on the current political situation.
Sources said the MPs from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Bengal discussed the coming Durga Puja, and it was decided that there would be no protests or sit-ins for the next few days - a brief hiatus for the festive season.
One of the MPs told NDTV, "You can relax for a few days," implying that the Opposition would take to the streets only after Navratri and Diwali.
The Congress and other parties have made it clear that they should maintain distance from the CJP for now.
Discussions also took place regarding Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party keeping its distance -a situation that has upset the bloc leaders, sources indicated.
The Samajwadi Party, meanwhile, has spoken of keeping Azad Samaj Party's Chandrashekhar out of the alliance.
A key topic at Tuesday's meeting was AISA's Neha Bora. Although she was invited to the press conference, a leader of the NSUI was the one allowed to speak.
During Monday's protest, when all the leaders were present on the truck, Neha Bora was given quite a prominence; Priyanka Gandhi had kept her standing beside her.
It now appears that a Leftist undercurrent is flowing through the Congress. With Kanhaiya Kumar moving from the CPM to the Congress, there is speculation whether another leader will follow soon.
Speculation is now mounting regarding the Opposition's next move and the momentum of the pressure they have built so far.
At Tuesday's meeting, the Opposition also resolved to fight against the removal of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site. The bloc would take on the matter both legally and politically, sources said.
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