Demonetisation: Congress, TMC meet to plan united fight in Parliament

Congress and TMC leaders are meeting here this evening to chalk out a united fight during the Winter Session of Parliament commencing on November 16 against the demonetisation of RS 500 and Rs 1000 notes by the Modi government.

The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Congress leader in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, would be meeting the TMC leader in the lower house, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, ahead of an all-party meeting convened by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today, opposition sources said.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien is also likely to be present. It was not immediately clear whether other opposition parties have been invited.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had yesterday spoken to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury besides several other opposition leaders and mooted the idea of a united fight against the demonetisation move.

Congress leaders too had reached out to several parties, including TMC to chalk out a joint strategy ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament.

The Congress and TMC, besides other opposition parties like CPM, CPI, SP and BSP have targeted the government, accusing it of taking the decision in haste and without proper planning and caution, leading to harassment of the common man.