New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has said the Opposition's INDIA bloc would welcome all parties that share a fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution.
This came just as the alliance decided against staking a claim to form a government, saying that the political situation does not favor any such move “at the moment”, The Print news website reported.
Addressing the opposition group's first meeting after its impressive gains in the Lok Sabha election results 2024, Kharge said the mandate was “decisively against Mr Modi, against his substance and style of his politics. It is a huge political loss for him personally apart from being a clear moral defeat as well".
In his opening remarks, Kharge also extended congratulations and thanked the INDIA bloc allies for putting up a valiant fight against the BJP-led NDA, saying, “We fought well, fought unitedly, fought resolutely.”
The meeting -- attended by leaders of 21 Opposition parties -- was held to explore the possibilities of government formation, the alliance's future strategy, and whether to contact former allies, Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.
Following the meeting, which lasted over two hours, Kharge read out a statement, saying the alliance will take “appropriate steps at the appropriate time to realize the people’s desire not to be ruled by the BJP’s government.”
