Sonia dinner next week, all Opposition leaders invited

Congress sources said Sonia Gandhi is keen that her guests include leaders of all top Opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who is yet to confirm if she will attend.

Amid efforts by regional parties to build a platform of non-Congress, non-BJP parties, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has invited leaders of all Opposition parties to dinner on March 13. The move is being seen as a bid to bring a united force against the BJP. It was Sonia initiative that had led to the formation of the UPA against the BJP-led NDA.

The current initiative comes when many Opposition parties have joined hands to attack the government in Parliament, and when some regional parties have made efforts to create an alternative platform, with TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao proposing national consultation on the matter.

“This would be a major step towards bringing together parties that would like to form a united front against the BJP,” said a Congress leader. Party sources said Sonia is keen that her guests include leaders of all top Opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who is yet to confirm if she will attend. Mamata has spoken to KCR as well as DMK’s MK Stalin for coordination inside and outside Parliament.

According to a senior Opposition leader who spoke on condition of anonymity, it is possible that NDA ally TDP too could attend the Congress leader’s dinner. Though the TDP is an ally of the NDA, it has joined hands with other Opposition parties in protests in Parliament against the Centre over the issue of triple talaq. The party has also expressed its differences with the government over a special package for Andhra Pradesh.

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App