Patna, June 23 (UNI) Fifteen non-BJP political parties, who met here on Friday, claimed they have arrived at a consensus to contest the coming Lok Sabha polls together to defeat the saffron party, whose rule "was not in the interest of the people of India.

Accusing the BJP-led government at the centre of "continuing to trample the democratic spirit envisaged in the country's Constitution", they said the next round of deliberations would be held tentatively on July 12 in Shimla.

At the initiative of Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, top leaders of 15 opposition parties including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, NCP leader Sharad Pawar among others participated in the meeting, considered crucial in deciding the line-up of political forces ahead of the general elections slated to take place in less than a year.

Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Rashtriya Janata Dal Supreme Lalu Prasad Yadav, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav, CPI leader D Raja, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and General Secretary of CPI(ML) Deepankar Bhattacharya also took part in the day-long deliberations.

"The next meeting of opposition leaders will take place in Shimla, tentatively on July 12. However, the date may change by a day or two due to factors relating to assembly elections in some states," said Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at a joint press conference addressed by the leaders after the meeting.

Nitish Kumar said that a consensus has been evolved to contest together next Lok Sabha elections. "All leaders in the meeting felt that BJP rule was not in the interest of the people and the saffron party was trying to change the history of the nation. BJP was even attempting to change the facts of the freedom struggle," he said.

"We have agreed to contest together and details would be finalised in the next meeting in Shimla", Kumar said. The Congress president would convene the next meeting.

Banerjee said all opposition parties taking part in the meeting were united to take on the BJP in Lok Sabha elections. There was a dictatorial government in the country which had "virtually demolished all constitutional provisions", she claimed.

"We should not be branded as opposition as we are also citizens of the country and concerned with the interest of the people and equally respect Bharat Mata", the West Bengal Chief Minister said.

She alleged that the Narendra Modi government was "misusing' central agencies like CBI, ED and Income Tax Department to harass those raising their voices against it. She also claimed women were not safe in the country under BJP's rule.

Banerjee pointed out that Rajbhavan in Kolkata celebrated the "so-called" foundation day of West Bengal without taking the consent of her government. She lamented that her government was kept in the dark about the celebration in Rajbhavan.

She alleged that the state governor C V Ananda Bose was taking decisions "unilaterally" in the matter of appointments and other issues in universities. "If BJP returns to power after the next Lok Sabha polls, there will be no elections thereafter," she cautioned.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said democracy had been "trampled" in the union territory by the centre's ruling BJP as there was President's rule for the last five years. Such a long spell of President's rule was imposed in the nineties when the situation in the then state was at its worst.

But despite the better condition in J&K now, the BJP government has placed it under President's rule for the past five years, he remarked.

PDP leader and another former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said that the union territory was the 'worst sufferer" of BJP's rule at the Centre. It was time to fight unitedly to oust BJP from power in the Lok Sabha elections, she added.

Kejriwal, Stalin and Mann were not present in the press conference. Kumar, however, claimed these leaders had left soon after the meeting as they were in a hurry to catch their flights. UNI KKS SSP