Congress calls meet of oppn. parties

New Delhi: Buoyed by its performance in the recent Assembly polls that was well beyond its expectations, the Congress has called a meeting of all Opposition parties on November 4 to finalise a nationwide campaign on the state of the economy.

Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad is coordinating with all other Opposition parties, sources told this newspaper.

The Congress, which has already announced plans for a nationwide protest from November 5 on four key issues — the economic downturn, unemployment, the agrarian distress and the proposed signing of the RCEP by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — would first hold a meeting of its top office-bearers, including all AICC general secretaries, on Saturday, This  meeting will be chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said that the party will also organise press conferences from November 1 to 8.

The protests starting November 5 will culminate in a “massive programme” in New Delhi in the last week of November when Parliament will be in session. At the state level, the PCC presidents, CLP leaders and senior AICC figures will provide the leadership, while central leaders will participate in the protest in Delhi, he said. The statement further said the protests against the BJP government’s “misrule” will be carried out in all state capitals.