PoliticsOpposition
Rally will bring Delhi traders more business, says Kapil Sibal, vowing to keep 'vote chori' before the nation
Answering worries about a huge political gathering a week before Diwali, the Rajya Sabha MP said the INDIA bloc's Ramlila Maidan rally would help shopkeepers, while Congress's Deepa Dasmunsi called it a big message to the election chief.
Key points
- Kapil Sibal said the rally would mean more trade for Delhi's shopkeepers.
- He said the opposition would keep the history of vote chori before the country.
- Deepa Dasmunsi called the rally a big message for Gyanesh Kumar.
The INDIA bloc’s rally will bring Delhi’s traders more business, not less, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday afternoon, pushing back against fears that a massive political gathering a week before Diwali would hurt the city’s markets.
“There will be more trade,” Sibal said at the rally, which opposition parties have called to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The senior advocate said the campaign would go on well beyond the day. “We will keep the history of vote chori in front of the nation,” he said, using the opposition’s phrase for what it calls the theft of votes through the revision.
The traders’ question had been taken up a day earlier by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in a video message on X. “Protest, march, hold rallies, and along with that, do a little shopping too,” he told supporters. “I know the rally will not harm the traders. The BJP is scared, that’s why it’s spreading rumours.”
Congress leader Deepa Dasmunsi said the gathering was aimed squarely at the poll body’s chief. “It’s a big message for Gyanesh Kumar, a big message for the country,” she said, “a big message to save democracy and to save the Constitution.”
Leaders attending the rally include Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Revanth Reddy, Tejashwi Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Farooq Abdullah and D Raja. Police permission requires the event to end by 5 pm.