Rahul Gandhi thanked the BJP for promoting the INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan (Credit: Reuters)
NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took a swipe at BJP, thanking the ruling party and its allies for promoting the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, as he urged people to join the protest over alleged “vote chori”.
This comes a day after BJP asked the Congress leader to defer the rally date from November 1 as it conincided with 1981 anti-Sikh riots anniversary.In a post on X, Rahul called for a “Save the Vote, Save the Country” march and mega rally, alleging that voter names had been deleted from electoral rolls and rules and laws violated."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," he said.He urged students, farmers, workers, women, youth and traders to attend the rally, saying, “The vote is yours. The fight is also yours.”"Students, farmers, laborers, women, youth, and traders - anyone who cares about democracy must come. The vote is yours.
The fight is also yours," he said.Taking a dig at the BJP and its allies, Rahul wrote: “Heartfelt thanks to BJP and its allies, who are promoting this program with such great enthusiasm and reaching it to more and more people.” He urged them to maintain the same enthusiasm over the next seven days."Just keep up this same zeal and dedication for the next 7 days!" he said.
The BJP has objected to the November 1 date, alleging that holding the rally on the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots would hurt Sikh sentiments.
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad accused Congress of being insensitive to the community and traders.The rally has drawn criticism from Delhi's Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI), which has urged Rahul to postpone it until after November 10, citing potential disruption to festive-season business. The traders' body said the rally could affect trade worth Rs 10,000 crore. Moreover, the Federation of LPG Distributors of India (FLDI) has also opposed the rally.
Separately, INDIA bloc leaders are scheduled to hold a “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on October 30, with a mock Parliament planned at Delhi's Hotel Ashok.The opposition's campaign centres on allegations of “vote chori” and irregularities in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.