"Darna hai, ya ladna hai?" (Should we be afraid or should we fight?). It was Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who delivered the punchline during Congress president Sonia Gandhi's meeting with a seven chief ministers on Wednesday, 26 August. .
The meeting took place over Zoom and was streamed live on the Congress' official YouTube and Twitter channels. Moderated by Sonia Gandhi, seven non-BJP chief ministers participated in the meeting. These include:
- Four Congress chief ministers: Captain Amarinder Singh (Punjab), Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and V Narayanasamy (Puducherry).
- Two Congress-supported CMs: Hemant Soren (Jharkhand), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra).
- And one surprise invitee: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
The non-NDA CMs who didn't attend or weren't invited were: Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), K Chandrashekar Rao (Telangana), YS Jaganmohan Reddy (Andhra Pradesh), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala) and Naveen Patnaik (Odisha).
Three key national issues were discussed in the meeting:
- COVID-19 pandemic
- NEET JEE examination
- GST and the state of federalism under Narendra Modi's rule
The meeting was an important one for at least five reasons.
1. Sonia Gandhi is Both ‘Active’ and ‘Visible’
The meeting came less than a week after a letter written by 23 Congress leaders became public. The letter, addressed to Sonia Gandhi, had alleged that the party leadership wasn't active or visible enough.
Gandhi's meeting with the seven chief ministers and the manner in which she conducted it, sent a clear message to her critics – that despite her health, she continues to call the shots and has the political stature to lead the charge against the Narendra Modi government.
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray even congratulated her for being back and being in control.
2. Sonia-Mamata Bonhomie
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was a surprise inclusion in the meeting as she was the only CM present who was neither from the Congress nor dependent on the party’s support.
As a mark of respect for Banerjee, Gandhi made it a point to give the West Bengal CM the chance to speak first. When Banerjee finished her address, Gandhi even offered her to take over as moderator, to which the former replied politely, "No Ma'am, you are a senior leader. With you present, how can I chair?"
Banerjee also made it a point to praise Sonia Gandhi for her initiative and even invoked her late husband former PM Rajiv Gandhi.
With 35 MPs in both houses of Parliament combined, TMC is the third-largest party after BJP and Congress. Bringing it on board on key issues is an important win for Sonia Gandhi at a time when her leadership is facing questions.
From the TMC's perspective, Mamata's presence in the meeting was a clever way to drive a wedge between the Congress and the Left. If the two come together, it could harm the TMC's prospects in the Assembly elections next year.
3. Call Against NEET, JEE
Almost all the chief ministers demanded that the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) be postponed, a demand being raised by lakhs of students across the country.
Sonia Gandhi said that by going ahead with the examinations, the Centre has shown that it doesn't care about students.
Hemant Soren said that the movement of students from one place to another could pose logisitical nightmare and potentially lead to the spread of COVID-19.
Mamata Banerjee and Amarinder Singh said that Opposition parties should consider mounting a legal challenge on this matter and approach the Supreme Court.
4. Centre Attacked on GST and Federalism
All the CMs raised the issue of sharing of GST revenue and attacked the Centre of not giving enough to states.
Banerjee and Soren both criticised the Centre's way of pushing schemes without taking states on board but making states foot part of the bill for it.
V Narayanasamy made common cause with Banerjee and said that both states are facing a similar problem of interference by the Centre-appointed Lieutenant Governor and Governor respectively.
5. Opposition Unity
Significantly all the leaders spoke about the need for a united challenge to the BJP. Even Banerjee, who is not a UPA partner and Thackeray who is only a recent ally, said that there is a need for more such Opposition meetings to be held.
However, most of the CMs, especially non-Congress ones, said that the Opposition hasn’t been strong enough in putting the government on the mat.
The meeting could potentially lead to a more coordinated challenge.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)