New Delhi, 18th Aug: At a gathering led by JD(U)’s Sharad Yadav, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi urged the opposition leaders from SP, Left and others to join hands to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party. He launched a fresh attempt to unite the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, but the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party hit back at the effort as “an alliance of scared people” facing corruption charges.

Speaking at a meeting of 12 opposition parties, Rahul said the BJP had failed to keep its promise to create jobs and fight corruption, while its ideological parent, the RSS, was busy subverting the constitution and embedding its own people in key institutions, including the judiciary, bureaucracy and media. The meeting, attended by all the major opposition parties except Tamil Nadu’s DMK, brought together traditional rivals such as the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party as well as Trinamool Congress and the Communists.

“If we fight together, these people (the BJP) will not be seen anywhere,” Gandhi told the Sanjhi Virasat Bachao, or Save Composite Culture, meeting convened by Janata Dal (U) leader Sharad Yadav. “One says this country is mine, other says I belong to the country. That’s the difference between RSS and us.” — Rahul  said. His comments mark yet another opposition attempt to unite against the BJP, which has been emboldened by a string of state election victories, although its aura of invincibility has come under threat from a slowing economy and growing protests against religious and caste violence. The move also comes weeks after a similar, fledgling endeavour failed when Janata Dal (U) leader Nitish Kumar broke from the opposition ranks and aligned with the BJP to head a new government with in Bihar. The decision split the JD (U) with Sharad Yadav now heading what he says is the real party.

BJP minister Ravi Shankar Prasad mocked the conclave, saying the opposition was trying to come together because it was scared of Prime Minister Modi. But Gandhi attacked Modi’s marquee social and economic programmes, saying, “Wherever Modi goes he lies”.