New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his blog on Monday called the 2019 general elections narrative ‘Modi vs chaos.’ Taking a jibe at the mega opposition rally held in Kolkata on Saturday, the senior BJP leader said, “it was more significantly a non-Rahul Gandhi rally.”
Further elaborating he said, “The Kolkata rally organised by Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee was significant. On the surface, it was an anti-Modi rally. More significantly it was also a non-Rahul Gandhi rally.
The opposition politics has thrown up four desirous Prime Ministers wishing to challenge Prime Minister Modi. Besides Mamata Banerjee, the other three — Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and KCR were significantly absent in Kolkata.”
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Saturday hosted a slew of opposition leaders in the state capital in a significant show of strength ahead of the general elections later this year. Almost all the key opposition parties, barring the arch-rival Left parties, attended the meet and jointly announced that more such gatherings would take place in the coming days.
In attendance at the Brigade Grounds in Kolkata were senior leaders of more than a dozen of key opposition parties, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Congress’ senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Janata Dal (Secular) chief H D Devegowda, chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal (who heads the Aam Aadmi Party) and Chandrababu Naidu (who leads the Telugu Desam Party) among others. Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) leader Tejaswi Yadav was also present in the meet.
Interestingly, while Jaitley termed the meet as against Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Yadav went on record to say, “Congress is the most equipped to lead the opposition.”
Jaitley further wrote that two-thirds of those on stage were those who in the past have worked with the BJP. Some octogenarians reached Kolkata to satisfy their late-life ambitions. “There was not a single speech reflecting the positive idea which the leaders proposed for the future. Negativism was writ large in their approach. The strategy of each of the four contenders is clear.”
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