Oppn Split Over Congress' Note Ban Meet, Cites Lack of Clarity

New Delhi: The cracks within the Opposition party were out in the open on Tuesday after many political parties including JDU, SP, BSP, CPI (M) and NCP decided to stay away from the joint press conference led by the Congress party.

The joint press conference was to be convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders and will be held at 3 PM at the Constitution Club in Delhi.

Despite the setback, Congress is striving for Opposition unity on the issue of Sahara-Birla papers after their leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "personal corruption".

Reacting to the development, BSP Chief Mayawati said, "We are staying away from today's opposition meet on demonetization because there are differences of opinion. Why should BSP attend the meet. We had been the first to raise the issue and had opposed it."

Corroborating the same, JD (U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said, "We have decided to stay away from the press conference of opposition parties because there has been no proper consultation and coordination among the parties.

"In the future if someone raises the issue with proper coordination then we have no hesitation to join the meet," Tyagi added.

"Most of the parties are not aware about what will be the agenda of the meeting. The agenda should be clear," he added.

CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury had said, “Several opposition parties have reservation about the way the meeting has been convened. We were not consulted about the agenda of the meeting."

Raising the stakes in her fight against Modi government on demonetisation, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already arrived in Delhi on Monday.

TMC sources said, Mamata, who is spearheading the fight against demonetisation, will be part of the joint opposition meeting, TMC sources said.

Mamata will be in the capital for three days and expected to meet several leaders from different political hues during her stay.

Sources said that Mamata has already had a talk with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and RJD chief Lalu Yadav to discuss the issue of demonetisation.

(With PTI Inputs)