As the Patna meet of 16 Opposition parties concluded on Friday, 23 June, friction emerged between the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress.
AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann skipped the joint press conference addressed by 15 leaders including Bihar Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, and others.
Nitish Kumar, while addressing the press conference, attributed Kejriwal and Mann’s absence to them running late for a flight.
“Kejriwal left because he had to return to Delhi,” Nitish said.
AAP in a statement, however, said that it will not be part of any future Opposition gatherings that include the Congress until the party publicly opposes the Centre's contentious ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.