Oppn agrees on 'common minimum' for pre-poll alliance

The Opposition parties on Wednesday night decided to work on a common minimum programme at the national level to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi from office.

"We had a very constructive meeting. We agreed that the principal target for all of us is to fight the assault on institutions being carried out by BJP," Congress president Rahul Gandhi told reporters after a meeting of Opposition leaders at NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's residence.

"We agreed that principal target for all of us is to wipe the assault on Indian institutions being carried out by Narendra Modi, BJP and RSS. We have agreed to start a conversation about a common minimum programme and we have a commitment that we are all going to work together to defeat BJP," Rahul said.

The meeting was attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, NC leader Farooq Abdullah among others.

"We will work together at the national level. We will have a common minimum agenda. We will have a pre-poll alliance,” Banerjee said after the meeting.

Banerjee had rebuffed UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Parliament on Wednesday after Congress member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury launched a sharp attack on the Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha.

It was left to Pawar to use his skills at deft handling to get leaders from across the Opposition spectrum to arrive at a common ground.