No one wants to know about Opposition meet: Annamalai

MADURAI: As the Opposition preps up for its second joint meeting scheduled to be held in Karnataka’s Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief K Annamalai came down heavily upon the meet, saying no one wants to know about it.

“An alliance against an individual person (PM Modi) will not last more than three months. No one wants to know about the opposition meeting to be held in Bengaluru. When there is a Cauvery Management Board, the CM of the state (Karnataka) has no authority to say that he will not give water to Tamil Nadu”, Annamalai told the reporters.

He also slammed the Tamil Nadu government for not condemning Karnataka's Mekedatu Dam project, “But the fact that the Tamil Nadu government has not condemned in this regard makes us sad. Therefore, Chief Minister Stalin, who is attending the opposition meeting, should give his voice to condemnation there. Perhaps if Stalin returns without condemning, we will hold a black flag protest on behalf of the BJP in Tamil Nadu”, Annamalai added.

Further, he announced that BJP will protest against the increase in power tariff and vegetable prices among other issues across Tamil Nadu on July 23.

“On the coming 23rd, we are going to protest against the increase in vegetable prices, electricity prices, and bond registration prices in 12,600 village panchayats across Tamil Nadu on behalf of the BJP”, he said.

Gearing up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, leaders of at least 26 Opposition parties will converge at a hotel in Bengaluru on July 17-18 as part of their efforts to present a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar, has been deputed as in-charge to monitor all the preparations for the meeting. Arrangements have been made for all the opposition leaders to stay at a five-star hotel in the city, sources said.

As per a tentative schedule, on Monday, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh, and Congress General Secretary, KC Venugopal will hold a joint press conference at 11 am.

And all the opposition leaders will start arriving for the meeting in the afternoon.

An informal meeting is scheduled at 6 pm after which there will be dinner at 8 pm.

On July 18, the meeting will kick off at 11 am and will continue till 4 pm.

Following this, there will be a press conference in which the campaign strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls may be announced.

According to sources, the name of the opposition alliance will be decided, and the common minimum program will be discussed in the Bengaluru meeting. Last month, the mega Opposition meet was convened in Patna by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

At the meeting, Opposition heavyweights, including Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, brainstormed on a roadmap for an anti-BJP front in time for the next year's Lok Sabha elections.