Sought postponement but will surely attend: TN CM Stalin on Opposition meeting in Patna

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], June 1 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin said on Wednesday that he has sought postponement of the meeting of leading Opposition parties in Patna on June 12, as he will be attending an inaugural ceremony on the same date.

However, he confirmed the party's participation in the meeting, which is aimed at putting together a grand Opposition alliance against the BJP-led central government ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing a press briefing on Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu CM said, "I will be attending the inaugural ceremony of Mettur Dam on the same date (as the Opposition meeting). It is an important event. Even the Congress president (Mallikarjun Kharge) will be held up at a different event and won't be able to attend the meeting on that day. So, I have asked for the meeting of Opposition parties to be pushed back. However, the DMK will surely participate in the meeting."

The DMK chief informed further that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will hold a meeting with him in Chennai on Thursday to discuss the contours of a grand Opposition alliance against the BJP at the Centre.

"Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will be meeting me tomorrow in Chennai. We have already started discussions on the formation of an anti-BJP alliance and we will get there," he said.

On his recent visits to Singapore and Japan, the Tamil Nadu chief minister said his official tour was 'victorious'.

"The meetings between Tamil Nadu and Japan went well. Rs 3,233 crore worth of MoUs were signed during my visits to these two countries. 5000-plus new jobs will be created soon in Tamil Nadu. I met with ministers of Singapore and Japan as well as other senior officials there. I held discussions on ways to take Tamil Nadu forward," he said.

The CM stated further that Tamil Nadu will play host to a World Investor Meet on January 10 and 11, next year. "I invited the officials of Japan and Singapore to participate in the World Investor Meet to be held in Tamil Nadu next year. I hope they will participate in the event," he added.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren confirmed his party's participation in the meeting of leading Opposition forces in Patna on June 12.

To a question on whether his party would attend the meeting of Opposition forces in Patna, CM Soren said, "Since all Opposition parties have enlisted their participation at the meeting, we, too, would attend it."

Earlier, on Sunday, Janata Dal (United) leader Manjit Singh said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will chair a meeting of leading Opposition players in the state capital on June 12.

The Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has been spearheading efforts to bring all Opposition parties together against the BJP government at the Centre, with an eye on next year's Lok Sabha polls.

As part of the effort to galvanise the Opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, he has already met the likes of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.