Expressing solidarity with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said it is imperative for the opposition parties in the country to unite in order to protect democracy and its cherished values.
Ms Mufti, who was reacting to a letter by the West Bengal Chief Minister to non-BJP leaders in which she pitched for opposition unity against alleged "assaults" by the BJP and its government on democracy and constitutional federalism of India, said the need of the hour is to put up a collective fight against the "onslaught".
"Agree with @MamataOfficial di that in order to protect our democracy & its cherished values it is imperative for the opposition parties to unite," the PDP president wrote on Twitter.
She also shared a copy of her letter written in response to Ms Banerjee's communication addressed to Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi, NCP's Sharad Pawar, DMK's MK Stalin, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray among others.
"Thank you for reaching out to me. I share & understand your apprehensions about the central government undermining the federal framework that has been guaranteed by the Indian Constitution," Ms Mufti said in her response.
The former J-K chief minister alleged that the recent GNCTD bill is yet another example of how BJP is "bulldozing" its opponents by using its "brute majority" to pass and implement bills.
"This process started in 2019 with the dismemberment of Jammu and Kashmir and stripping it of its special status which was again a constitutional guarantee. Unfortunately, not many in the opposition used their collective power & voice to oppose this unilateral & illegal step," Ms Mufti alleged.
She also referred to the detention of political leaders and alleged harassment by central probe agencies.
"Therefore, the need of the hour is to unite & put up a collective fight against this onslaught," she added.
Ahead of the second phase of polls in West Bengal, Ms Banerjee's letter, which was released by the TMC on Wednesday, seeks to drum up support from opposition leaders by highlighting how non-BJP states have allegedly suffered due to the saffron party-led Centre's actions.
Hitting back at Ms Banerjee, the BJP said that democracy should be the last word in her dictionary.
"... Their cadre attack @BJP4Bengal candidates, intimidate voters, capture booths, block all hoardings and at the end leaders preach Democracy," BJP general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh tweeted.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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