- Tweeter
republish
In India, more than half a million people were present to attend the big rally of opposition parties in Calcutta in eastern India on Saturday. The meeting, which brought together a multitude of parties and political leaders hostile to Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, could mark the birth of a large opposition alliance, four months before the parliamentary elections.
With our correspondent in New Delhi, Antoine Guinard
This is a real demonstration of strength that the opponents of Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demonstrated on Saturday in Calcutta. Leaders of 18 opposition parties from 14 Indian states gathered in the capital of West Bengal, at the initiative of the state government chief Mamata Banerjee.
The aim was to find a strategy together to oust Mr. Modi's nationalist party. " The BJP has passed its expiration date, " said Mamata Banerjee, who denounced a " fascist governance " of the prime minister and his party.
Former Prime Minister Deve Gowda stressed the urgency of drafting a common electoral platform and agreeing on a strategy for dividing constituencies among the opposition parties as the May legislative elections draw near. .
For his part, Narendra Modi reacted by accusing the various opposition parties of having united to " flee the anti-corruption campaign " led by his government. The opposition has planned to hold two similar rallies in the coming weeks. One of them should take place in the Indian capital.
► (Re) read: India: the BJP wants to curry favor with high caste voters