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StatesHaryana

Barricades everywhere to slow us down, says Deepender Hooda; Pilot accuses government of using pressure on rally-goers

The Rohtak MP said he had asked Haryana Police not to obstruct people heading to the INDIA bloc rally in Delhi, and accused BJP president Nitin Nabin of forcing a Diwali market shut with a protest outside his family home.

From the editorial desk · New DelhiPublished
Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda (file photo)
Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda (file photo)Photo: Edwige9 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Key points

  1. Deepender Hooda said barricades were slowing traffic at several points on the way to Delhi.
  2. Sachin Pilot said the government wanted to stop people through pressure.
  3. Hooda said a BJP protest in Rohtak had forced a Diwali market to close.

Congress leaders from Haryana stepped up their complaints on Sunday afternoon that supporters were being held back on the road to the INDIA bloc rally, with Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda alleging barricades at point after point.

“Today, barricades are being put up everywhere to try to slow down traffic,” Hooda said. He said he had asked Haryana Police not to obstruct people travelling to Ramlila Maidan, where opposition parties are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the revision of electoral rolls.

Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot widened the charge to the government as a whole. “The government wants to stop people through pressure and prevent people from voicing their opinions,” he said.

Hooda also turned on the BJP’s counter-programme in his home town. He accused BJP national president Nitin Nabin of staging a protest outside the Hooda family residence in Rohtak, and claimed it had forced a local Diwali market to close. The BJP had announced the Rohtak march as its answer to the Delhi rally.

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda (file photo)
Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who called the Delhi rally massive.World Economic Forum on Flickr / Matthew Jordaan / Wikimedia

His father, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, called the rally massive and said the leaders of the INDIA bloc would all attend.

There was no immediate response from Haryana Police or the BJP to the allegations. Earlier in the day, rally-bound vehicles had been caught in a long jam at the Sarhaul border between Gurugram and Delhi. Delhi Police have asked the organisers to end the event by 5 pm.