Lok Sabha elections 2024: Seat-sharing agreement among INDIA bloc partners almost finalised, says Sachin Pilot

The seatsharing agreement among the INDIA bloc partners is almost finalised Congress leader Sachin Pilot said on Saturday expressing confidence of winning the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to provide a better government to the people of the countryThe former Rajasthan deputy chief minister said the country deserves a government that respects the opposition encourages debates and discussions and does not use agencies on its whims and fanciesPilot said this while speaking in a debate on the INDIA bloc Indias opposition The search for a narrative and strategy at the India Today conclave here National Conference NC vicepresident Omar Abdullah and Aam Aadmi Party AAP leader Atishi also spoke during the debateI may fight two or four seats less or more but that is not important During negotiations we go to the brink and ultimately the objective is to field oneonone candidates against the BJP and the NDA Pilot saidHe said the seatsharing agreement among the alliance partners is almost finalised and the message for the people is very clear that the country deserves a government that respects the opposition encourages debates and discussions and does not use agencies on its whims and fanciesWe are fighting this election to win Whether we will win or not will depend on the people of this country and it is best that the judgment remains on hold till June 4 The INDIA bloc came to the fore because of the circumstances that the country witnessed for the last nine years the Congress leader saidHe alleged that there has been a systematic attack on wellestablished constitutional entities of the country over the last nine yearsThe attempt was to get all opposition parties together so that we can throw up a formidable challenge to the NDA National Democratic Alliance and defeat it in the election Do not forget that in 2019 the BJP got around 37 per cent votes which means twothirds of the voters had voted against itOur attempt was to assimilate all political parties despite their differences The attempt was to collate a coalition and get everyone together Pilot said adding that the Congress has given up a number of seats in many states as it is in the larger interest of the country to have a united oppositionIn a democracy he said the opposition is almost as important as the government The opposition is within its right to ask questions ask for transparency debates and discussions Shouldnt we ask why 147 MPs were suspended in a single day and bills passed Shouldnt we ask why the Supreme Court ruled against so many things like the electoral bonds Shouldnt we ask what happened in Chandigarh that the Supreme Court had to intervene These are important things and we had to nip those in the bud he saidThe Congress leader said the Lok Sabha polls were announced on Saturday but the narrative was already set He questioned about the fulfillment of promises made by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party BJP like doubling the farmers income two crore jobs a year and reducing poverty and inflationJust casting a vote and electing a government is not democracy Democracy is that every institution must be credible transparent and must enjoy the faith of people he said adding that it is also about providing a levelplaying field to all political parties and encouraging healthy debates in ParliamentPilot said elections are important because the people of the country want to see a credible roadmap as an alternative and we are the ones who are providing thatThe INDIA bloc has many partners in the fold but the Congress remains the only political party that can actually pose a formidable challenge to the BJP nationally Every state has leaders and parties that are very important to us They are equal partners not big or small But nationally it is the Congress across the length and breadth of India that takes on the BJP and can defeat it We have done it before and we can do it again he assertedAtishi said the AAP has chosen its candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to win the seats they are contesting because it is a doordie battle for the countryEvery democratic institution of this country is being eroded one by one under the BJPs rule The issue of electoral bonds has shown that the biggest nationalised bank of the country the State Bank of India has become another arm of the BJP she saidAtishi said the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI and Enforcement Directorate ED are not just putting opposition leaders in jail but these agencies were also used to extort money from the countrys biggest businesses who were forced to buy electoral bondsThis is a battle that all of us are fighting It the INDIA bloc is an important achievement to overcome a larger crisis in the country she said PTI TAS SKL