Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated his 'Save the Vote - Save the Country Jan March and Mega Rally' announcement to be held in Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on November 1 as Opposition continues to raise voice against Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in India.
"Our votes are being stolen, and we will not tolerate this quietly under any circumstances. Names have been removed from the voter lists. Rules and laws have been broken. And lathis have been used on those asking questions. Now the country will respond," Gandhi said in a X post on Sunday.
He called on students, farmers, laborers, women, youth and traders to join the protest rally.
"Students, farmers, laborers, women, youth, and traders - anyone who cares about democracy must come. The vote is yours. The fight is also yours. PS: Heartfelt thanks to BJP and its allies, who are promoting this program with such great enthusiasm and reaching it to more and more people. Just keep up this same zeal and dedication for the next 7 days!" he added.
Notably, the Mega Rally against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, scheduled for November 1, was announced by Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal earlier on October 5.
Ahead of the November 1 'Dilli Chalo' march at Ramlila Maidan, the INDIA bloc is set to conduct a symbolic "Public Impeachment" proceeding against CEC Kumar on October 30, where a public verdict to remove him will be delivered loud and clear.
In a post on X, Venugopal announced that party president Mallikarjun Kharge has reached out to top leaders across all constituent parties of the INDIA bloc, urging them to mobilise their cadre and maintain a strong presence in the national capital throughout the high-decibel protest period.
"In our effort to save the Constitution and defeat the Vote Chors, the INDIA bloc will be holding a crucial Public Impeachment proceeding on 30th October, where the public’s verdict to remove the Vote Chor CEC Gyanesh Kumar will be delivered loud and clear. After this Public Impeachment, we will hold a Dilli Chalo March against Vote Chori culminating at Ramleela Maidan on November 1st, where at least a million concerned citizens will participate. INC President Mallikarjun @kharge ji has reached out to all INDIA Bloc parties, requesting that their leaders and members present in Delhi during this period be present in full force," he said.
Delhi traders worried
Delhi's businessmen have asked Rahul Gandhi to defer the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan until after November 10, noting that it could disrupt business worth Rs 10,000 crore in the peak Diwali shopping season.
The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) submitted a letter to Gandhi, appealing that the rally could hit wholesale and retail markets around Ramlila Maidan just when traders expect heavy footfall ahead of Dhanteras and Diwali.
CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal said Delhi does business worth around Rs 25,000 crore around Dhanteras, which falls on November 6 this year as consumer spending spans gold and silver, electronics, clothing, utensils, dry fruits, sweets, automobiles, property and gift items.
Congress gears up for INDIA bloc mega rally on November 1
The preparations for the upcoming INDIA bloc mega rally are in full swing. Venugopal reviewed the preparations for the mega rally at Indira Bhavan, holding detailed discussions with chairpersons and in-charges of various party frontals and departments to ramp up mobilisation efforts.
"We continued our meetings to take stock of preparations for the INDIA Bloc Mega Rally against Vote Chori on November 1st, as we met with Chairpersons and In-charges of various frontals and departments at Indira Bhavan today," he posted on X.