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Nitish accepts lunch date with Modi, skips Sonia's invite

| | May 27, 2017, at 04:47 am
New Delhi, May 26 (IBNS): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday skipped meeting with oppositions parties but accepted luncheon planned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in honour of Mauritian premier Pravind Jugnauth on Saturday, setting off speculation that the Janata Dal United (JD-U) might break away from the Grand Alliance.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on behalf of the united opposition in national politics said that they will support any consensus candidate decided by the government for the upcoming presidential election.

After the meeting of 17 opposition parties across the country, Banerjee said: "Let us wait for the consensus candidate and the name. If it suits all of us then everybody (opposition) will support the candidate. "

Banerjee stressed on the 'secularism' as a condition to support the candidate decided by the government, otherwise the Opposition would form a committee to propose a name for the election.

Revealing not much, Banerjee said that no name has been discussed in the all party meet for the election of the ceremonial head of the country.

The meet was hosted by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and attended by several regional parties including the arch rivals in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury was present in the meet.

Other opponent leaders used the stage for an unified opposition as a tool to criticise the central government for their policies.

While RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav blamed Modi government for the dominance of Pakistan across borders, Mayawati raised the issue of plight of Dalits, poor and farmers evident in the last three years of BJP-led government.

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