19 July,2023 03:18 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Pic/PTI
A day after the opposition parties announced the name for their alliance 'INDIA', they finalised "Jeetega Bharat" as the combine's tagline, setting the tone for their 2024 Lok Sabha campaign, reported news agency PTI.
The Hindi tagline means "India will win" and is likely to be replicated in several regional languages, sources told PTI.
During the meeting in Bengaluru on Tuesday, several leaders felt that the word "Bharat" should feature in the name of the alliance, sources told PTI.
"It was decided that it would feature in the tagline," a senior leader told PTI.
Several leaders stressed that coinage of the tagline was a result of a joint effort by several leaders.
A group of 26 opposition parties on Tuesday demanded the implementation of the caste census while asserting that they have come together to defeat the "hatred and violence being manufactured against minorities" as well as "rising crimes against women, Dalits, tribals and Kashmiri Pandits".
The opposition alliance that will take on the ruling NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and an 11-member committee will be set up for coordination, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced after a meeting of the parties in Bengaluru.
In their 'Samuhik Sankalp (joint resolution)' released after the meeting, the parties expressed their steadfast resolve to safeguard the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution.
"The character of our republic is being severely assaulted in a systematic manner by the BJP. We are at a most crucial juncture in our nation's history. The foundational pillars of the Indian Constitution, secular democracy, economic sovereignty, social justice and federalism are being methodically and menacingly undermined," they alleged.
The opposition parties also expressed "grave concern" over the "humanitarian tragedy" that has "destroyed" Manipur.
The parties said they are determined to combat and confront the continuing assault on the Constitution and on constitutional rights of democratically elected state governments.
"There is a deliberate attempt to weaken the federal structure of our polity. The role of governors and LGs (lieutenant governor) in non-BJP ruled states has exceeded all constitutional norms," the opposition parties said in the resolution.
They also alleged that the "brazen misuse" of agencies by the BJP government against political rivals is undermining democracy.
Legitimate needs, requirements and entitlements of non-BJP ruled states are being actively denied by the Centre, the parties claimed.
"We reinforce our resolve to confront the grave economic crisis of ever-rising prices of essential commodities and record unemployment. Demonetisation brought with it untold misery to the MSME and unorganised sectors, resulting in large scale unemployment among our youth. We oppose the reckless sale of the nation's wealth to favoured friends," the opposition parties said in their resolution.
"We must build a fair economy with a strong and strategic public sector as well as a competitive and flourishing private sector, in which the spirit of enterprise is fostered and given every opportunity to expand. The welfare of Kisan and Khet Mazdur should always get the highest priority," the resolution said.
(With input from PTI)
