On Monday, Saamna newspaper which is the mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena-UBT political party in Maharashtra termed the opposition coalition meeting of June 23 as the ‘Wagner Group of India’ and asserted that it will topple the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the centre in the upcoming elections. The editorial piece drew a parallel between the Opposition and the ruling BJP and the Wagner group’s rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The Wagner Group came together in Patna to challenge Modi’s power in India. This group is not a rented one. Like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Modi will also have to go, but through democratic means. The Wagner Group in Patna has given these indications!” the editorial in the newspaper today said.
The comparison sounded strange as Wagner is a mercenary group started by Prighozin who used to be an ex-convict-turned-food seller. The PMC Wagner group has been referred to as “the defender of democracy” in the Saamana editorial, while comparing it to India’s opposition parties. According to the report, the Opposition gathered in Patna to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the exact same time that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner, rebelled against Putin.
“17 major political parties met in Patna of Friday. Around five incumbent Chief Ministers of various states and several other former leaders attended the meeting where it has been decided to defeat Prime Minister Modi and the BJP in a one-on-one match in the upcoming 2024 general elections. This is good news from the point of view of democracy,” the editorial roughly read in Marathi.
बैठक में उद्धव ठाकरे ने कहा कि अगर हमने 2024 में सत्ता परिवर्तन नहीं किया तो यह लोकसभा का आखिरी चुनाव होगा, इसलिए लोकतंत्र और संविधान को बचाने के लिए हमें (विपक्षी दलों) एक साथ रहना है और चुनाव लड़ना है: संजय राउत, उद्धव ठाकरे गुट के सांसद (कल हुई विपक्ष की बैठक पर ) pic.twitter.com/H83cCMYlvQ
— NBT Hindi News (@NavbharatTimes) June 24, 2023
Moreover, the so-called challenge by Wagner against Putin lasted less than 24 hours. The Russian government intervened, and made Wagner turn back to hold a different position in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Moreover, the Russian public seemed angry with the Wagner group.
The editorial called CM Eknath Shinde and his ministers as ‘the rented army’
Shiv Sena UBT also said that the meeting garnered expected reply from the Home Minister Amit Shah who said BJP will win 300 seats come what may in the upcoming elections. “Till yesterday, BJP party president JP Nadda was claiming that BJP would wil 400 seats and after just one meeting, Amit Shah said that BJP would win 300 seats. It was just the first meeting and the numbers they expect to win have reduced by 100. This is the power of opposition. The party has made people believe that it is credible and capable to rule over this country but truth is something else,” the editorial read.
The party also alleged that the BJP has employed and ‘rented’ several people to boost the BJP in public minds and to gain votes, “but”, it said, “the opposition group is not rented. It is this unity which will give a scathing reply to the BJP in the upcoming elections.”
“The same situation is happening in Russia today,” the editorial continued. “Putin is facing the backlash from the Wagner group. Wagner Group chief Yevgheny Prigozhin, who is leading the rebellion, has claimed that Russia will soon have a new President. Vladimir Putin meanwhile has called the armed rebellion by mercenary chief a betrayal and a stab in the back. This kind of language is not expected from a President’s mouth. Here in India, the BJP has also composed many such teams who are eventually going to harm the BJP leading to its fall,” it added.
The editorial indicated that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his ministers were a ‘rented army’ and that they are going to backstab the BJP, just like the Wagner group tried to do.
AAP is not entirely pleased with the meeting’s agenda and priorities
The 17 opposition parties that gathered on Friday, June 23, in Patna determined to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a single force in the 2024 general election in an effort to topple the Narendra Modi administration. The leaders reflected on the importance of Patna for fostering opposition unity because it served as the focal point of the Jayaprakash Narayan-led campaign that overthrew the Indira Gandhi government in the 1970s.
The leaders of the opposition parties assembled at Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s official residence at 1-Aney Marg in Patna. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s uneasiness about the controversial Ordinance pertaining to Delhi’s administration was also evident at the meeting. Although AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was present for the meeting, he skipped the press conference which the opposition leaders addressed right after the meeting. According to reports, the chief minister of Delhi was not entirely pleased with the meeting’s agenda or priorities.
BJP slams alliance calls it unholy, selfish, short-lived
The BJP meanwhile slammed the alliance and called it a ‘selfish’ alliance. The BJP said that the target of the ‘unholy’ alliance of the non-BJP parties was not PM Modi but the future of India. Union minister Smriti Irani happened to cite the differences between the AAP and the Congress and said that the differences were ‘indicative of the alliance’s short-lived nature.’
“Today, those parties which couldn’t stand each other in the past, came together, taking a pledge that will hinder India’s development…wolves hunt in packs…a political pack met in Patna today,” Irani said after a day after the meeting on June 23.
It is said that wolves hunt in packs!
— BJP (@BJP4India) June 23, 2023
Want to know about a 'Political Pack' which met in Patna and whose 'Prey' is nothing but 'Future of India'?
Watch to know: https://t.co/iAB3bnp7bk pic.twitter.com/tCNuC0oVjh
Whenever these political groups have come together in the past, according to Irani, they have only brought corruption and nepotism, which has hampered India’s economic growth. The tension between the AAP and Congress over the Delhi ordinance issue was brought up by the speaker, who asserted that “AAP’s blackmailing at the beginning itself shows what the future holds for this alliance.”
Second round of opposition talks in mid-July
It is being said that CM Kejriwal didn’t want to attend the meeting but he did after CM Nitish Kumar insisted on his presence. The AAP says that Congress must declare its opposition to the Ordinance for AAP to take part in any of the opposition meetings.
However, apart from AAP-Congress differences, the other political parties seem to have decided to defeat the BJP in the upcoming general election. The oppositions are also slated to have a second round of talks in Shimla around July 11–12 to settle the course of action to execute their plan. The forthcoming gathering will be hosted by the Congress party.
