NCP, DMK, Left parties, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party stayed away from Congress-led delegation to President
The fissures cropped up at the last minute after a Congress delegation met the Prime Minister separately in Parliament House on farmers' issues
The united colours of the opposition lost some sheen on the last day of the winter session as some parties blamed Congress for what they said was a self-goal when the party leaders met PM Narendra Modi seeking a loan waiver for farmers in UP.
The meeting came before a pre-scheduled programme to meet President Pranab Mukherjee jointly and hand him a memorandum that blamed the government for the near washout of the winter session.
The opposition unity among 15 parties in Parliament, though the government points out some are one-member parties, came about with TMC chief and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee playing a lead role.
The grouping has hung together, held daily meetings and dominated the session, to take on the Centre over demonetisation and the "immense miseries" caused to the people. But on the last day of the session, the unity suffered a dent with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's move, seen as "unwarranted" by some opposition parties, to meet the PM.
The ruffled feathers saw major parties, BSP, SP, Left, NCP, drop out of the group that met the President. TMC tried to soothe tempers till the end as it wanted to maintain the unity to take the anti-demonetisation stir to the streets.
BSP was the first to react to the Rahul-PM meeting. Soon after learning about it, BSP chief Mayawati told a senior SP member in RS about it and both parties took a call to stay away from the delegation. With UP polls coming up, they felt the Congress move was an attempt at upstaging them.
The Left and NCP too disliked the idea and dropped out of the delegation even as leaders of all the 15 parties had signed the memorandum to the President on how the government was responsible for not letting the House run.
The two-page charter detailed how the opposition had wanted a discussion on the note ban that had hit the lives of ordinary people, but the Centre did not agree to any of the conditions. This was the third time the opposition parties met the President on the issue.
Mamata, however, continued with her efforts to keep the flock together, reaching out to BSP, SP and others after the meeting with the President.
Mamata has advanced the TMC core panel meeting to plan anti-demonetisation agitations from December 27 to 22.
The fissures cropped up at the last minute after a Congress delegation met the Prime Minister separately in Parliament House on farmers' issues
The united colours of the opposition lost some sheen on the last day of the winter session as some parties blamed Congress for what they said was a self-goal when the party leaders met PM Narendra Modi seeking a loan waiver for farmers in UP.
The meeting came before a pre-scheduled programme to meet President Pranab Mukherjee jointly and hand him a memorandum that blamed the government for the near washout of the winter session.
The opposition unity among 15 parties in Parliament, though the government points out some are one-member parties, came about with TMC chief and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee playing a lead role.
The grouping has hung together, held daily meetings and dominated the session, to take on the Centre over demonetisation and the "immense miseries" caused to the people. But on the last day of the session, the unity suffered a dent with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's move, seen as "unwarranted" by some opposition parties, to meet the PM.
The ruffled feathers saw major parties, BSP, SP, Left, NCP, drop out of the group that met the President. TMC tried to soothe tempers till the end as it wanted to maintain the unity to take the anti-demonetisation stir to the streets.
BSP was the first to react to the Rahul-PM meeting. Soon after learning about it, BSP chief Mayawati told a senior SP member in RS about it and both parties took a call to stay away from the delegation. With UP polls coming up, they felt the Congress move was an attempt at upstaging them.
The Left and NCP too disliked the idea and dropped out of the delegation even as leaders of all the 15 parties had signed the memorandum to the President on how the government was responsible for not letting the House run.
The two-page charter detailed how the opposition had wanted a discussion on the note ban that had hit the lives of ordinary people, but the Centre did not agree to any of the conditions. This was the third time the opposition parties met the President on the issue.
Mamata, however, continued with her efforts to keep the flock together, reaching out to BSP, SP and others after the meeting with the President.
Mamata has advanced the TMC core panel meeting to plan anti-demonetisation agitations from December 27 to 22.