Opposition parties put off talks on seat-sharing, spell out ‘alternative agenda’ to counter BJP

The parties, however, issued a joint statement identifying common issues on which they can attack the BJP-led government. “We promise to transform both the substance and style of governance that will be more consultative, democratic and participative,” according to the ‘Saamuhik Sankalp’ (joint statement) issued after the meeting.

The parties did not mention specific issues such as the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which can be polarising in nature. The statement said, “We have come together to defeat the hatred and violence being manufactured against minorities; stop the rising crimes against women, Dalits, Adivasis and Kashmiri Pandits; demand a fair hearing for all socially, educationally and economically backward communities; and, as a first step, implement the Caste Census.”

Resolving to “fight the systemic conspiracy by BJP” to “target, persecute and suppress fellow Indians”, the parties stated: “Their (BJP’s) poisonous campaign of hate has led to vicious violence against all those opposed to the ruling party and its divisive ideology. These attacks are not only violating constitutional rights and freedoms but also eroding the basic values upon which the Republic of India is founded — Liberty, Equality and Fraternity and Justice — Political, Economic and Social. The repeated attempts by the BJP to vitiate public discourse by reinventing and rewriting Indian history are an affront to social harmony.”

The parties also resolved to safeguard the idea of India “as enshrined in the Constitution”. The statement said, “The character of our Republic is being severely assaulted in a systematic manner by the BJP. We are at a most crucial juncture in our nation’s history. The foundational pillars of the Indian Constitution — secular democracy, economic sovereignty, social justice and federalism — are being methodically and menacingly undermined.”

On Manipur, the statement called the Prime Minister’s silence shocking and unprecedented, and said there is an urgent need to bring the state back on the path of peace and reconciliation.

In a scathing attack on the government, the parties said there is a deliberate attempt to weaken India’s federal structure. “We are determined to combat and confront the continuing assault on the Constitution and on Constitutional rights of democratically elected state governments,” they said.

“There is a deliberate attempt to weaken the federal structure of our polity. The role of Governors & L-Gs [Lieutenant Governors] in non-BJP-ruled states has exceeded all Constitutional norms. The brazen misuse of agencies…against political rivals is undermining our democracy…”