Kolkata: Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on Friday said the entire nation was united to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre. "We are together to defeat BJP,” Gowda said after landing at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport to attend West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s mega ‘United India’ rally on Saturday.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also arrived in Kolkata. The opposition rally is tipped to be a major gathering of anti-BJP parties ahead of the national elections.
Deve Gowda, the national president of Janata Dal (Secular), stressed that the post of the PM is not a concern for the ‘mahagathbandhan’ and it is up to the people to decide who will be the right person. “People of the country will decide who will be the Prime Minister,” he said.
Showering lavish praise on Mamata Banerjee, Gowda said, “Mamata Banerjee is really working hard to unite the regional parties. She has taken a historic decision.”
“The main objective behind the January 19 rally and our presence is to remove Modi government,” he added. Gowda was received by senior TMC leader Subrata Mukherjee upon his arrival.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav said, “Desh badlav chahata hai….desh chahata hai ek nai sarkar aur ek nai pradhan mantri. (The country is looking for a change and wants a new prime minister).”
Yadav thanked TMC supremo for taking the initiative to organize this opposition rally. ”I am sure this mega rally will sound the death knell for BJP. Parivartan ki awaz Bengal se uthegi. (The call for change will rise from Bengal).”
Later in the evening, Mamata called on Deve Gowda, former Arunachal Pradesh CM Gegong Apang and Akhilesh Yadav. Besides exchanging pleasantries, sources say political strategy was also discussed. Mamata inquired about Gowda’s health too.
Sharad Yadav is also likely to meet Mamata on Friday night.
Stringent security arrangements have been made for the rally by the Kolkata police. Over 6,000 police personnel will take positions from 7am. High-rises close to the venue will be manned by snipers. The TMC has also engaged nearly 2,500 party workers to assist the police.
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