India's "Wagner Group" to topple BJP govt through votes: Saamna editorial

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 26 : In a bizarre comparison, 'Saamna', the official newspaper of the Uddhav Thackeray faction on Monday termed the opposition meeting of June 23 as the "Wagner Group of India" and asserted that it will dislodge the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"Democracy protector 'Wagner Group' came together to challenge Modi's power in Patna. This group is not mercenary that works for payment. Like Putin, Modi will also have to go, using the ballot, the voice of the people. The 'Wagner Group' (Opposition Parties) in Patna has given these indications," referring to the meeting of the opposition parties in Bihar the 'Saamna' stated.

On Saturday morning, in a Telegram post, Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin announced that his men had crossed the border from Ukraine into southern Russia and were ready to go "all the way" against the Russian military, TASS News Agency reported.

But later on, the governor of the southern Russian region of Voronezh said Wagner units are continuing their withdrawal and forces are departing "steadily and without incident."

The mouthpiece of the Uddhav Thackeray faction said that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will not decide the results in 2024, but people will.

"If there will be doubt or there will be an EVM scam then there will be a Manipur-like situation in the country as so much anger is filled among people against the government," it stated.

On Friday, the Opposition meeting, called by Bihar Chief Minister, had been called to forge opposition unity to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in which more than 17 Opposition parties took part.

Moreover, the next meeting of like-minded parties will be held in Shimla in July.

The Opposition parties picked Patna as a venue for its meeting as it represents the 1974 call of total revolution by Jayaprakash Narayan that toppled Indira Gandhi's majority government.