Cong to attend June 12 meeting of opposition parties

The Congress on Thursday said it will participate in the June 12 meeting of opposition parties in Patna but is yet to decide on who will attend the meeting.

Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar has convened the meeting.

"The Congress will surely participate in the June 12 meeting of opposition leaders in Patna. However, who will participate is not decided. The Congress party will soon decide who will attend the meeting," All India Congress Committee general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh told reporters in New Delhi.

"But, the Congress is surely attending that opposition meeting," he asserted.

Rahul Gandhi is currently on a visit to the US and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge is yet to decide on whether he would represent the party at the Patna meeting.

The Congress has been claiming primacy in the opposition space, being the largest party which has a base in every state across India.

Congress leaders have claimed that only their party can be the focal point of any joint opposition forum.

The June 12 meeting was fixed by Kumar in consultation with leaders of various parties and several chief ministers of opposition-ruled states.

Senior leaders of opposition parties are expected to attend the meeting.

The Congress has been saying that this is a preliminary meeting and a part of the series of meetings planned to forge opposition unity.

Kumar met several opposition leaders last month in his bid to bring them together on one common platform to fight the BJP unitedly.

He had met Kharge and Rahul Gandhi last month and prior to that he had a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.