Come What May, November 1 Rally Ho Kar Rahega: Congress Claims
Whether the proposed Congress rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1 succeed to put pressure on the Government regarding the ongoing SIR controversy or not remains to be seen but it is creating dissension among the traders of Delhi and even the Youth Congress is said to have flagged a 20-second video, supposed to be a promotional video to show that Gen Z had decided to join the Rally to be addressed by Rahul Gandhi.
The video shows a young boy posing as if he is talking to someone on the phone but was capturing the pics with the flash on at 3 girls who were discussing something late in the evening, and then he is shown scrolling their pics on his mobile, and suddenly one of the girls shows her mobile with the poster ‘Chalo Ramlila Maidan.’
This has received several comments saying this amounts to trolling of girls standing on a road late in the evening. Some feel that the concept is confusing and it does not convey clear message. The big question is why the girls were standing alone late in the evening on a road and what made one of them display her mobile with Chalo Ramlila Maidan poster. Was there no better way to tell the people that Gen Z is with them, they wonder.
On the other hand, the traders have once again appealed to Congress party to postpone the rally. They said it could disrupt business in 21 major wholesale and retail markets in Delhi, including Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazaar, Khari Baoli, Sadar Bazar Chandni Chowk, Jhandewalan, Kashmiri Gate, Ajmeri Gate, Naisarak, Dariba Kalan and Bhagirath Palace, etc during the peak festive season, traders’ body CTI has claimed.
The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has written to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, expressing concern over the major loss in traders’ earnings just ahead of the Deepawali festival.
They said for political parties and leaders it may be a one-day affair, but for traders, life would be affected for three consecutive days. The police would start barricading a day ahead of the rally and would impose Section 163, prohibiting assembly of more than four persons. This will prevent traders coming from across the country for wholesale purchases of goods for Deepawali, Dhanteras and Bhai Dooj from visiting these markets.
On November 1, the rally would pass through many city roads, which would lead to closure of several markets en route, like Karol Bagh, Jhandewalan, parts of Connaught Place, Chandini Chowk and other areas. Police could shut down the entry and exit gates of Metro services and all stations en route to the venue of the rally as they feel that Congress would mobilise its cadre from across the country to claim that people had come out on the roads endorsing their demand for resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and stopping of the process of SIR.
The trade body said on Day three, even if markets open, the trading would be very low as the traders coming from outside Delhi would have cancelled their visit or would have rescheduled visit fearing disruption of life in Delhi. The CTI also expressed fear that there could be lot of chaos on Delhi roads since Congress and other opposition parties would be mobilising a few lakhs of people while the ground could accommodate only 50-60,000 people, which means that about 15000 vehicles would enter Delhi.
During the October rallies, the CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal said the traders suffered a loss of Rs 4000 crore. They felt that by postponing the rally by about 10 days, their objective will not be defeated in any manner. On the other hand, they would even get the support of the traders.
But it appears that Congress and some of the INDIA bloc leaders are insistent on going ahead with the rally. While Kharge is expressing concern over the impact of inflation on the traders on the eve of Deepawali but added saying that the rally was to protect democracy and the right of every Indian to vote.
Rahul Gandhi asked them to tell Modi to cancel the SIR. It would take a minute for the government to cancel the SIR, he said. Sanjay Raut, MP of Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray group said a rally at any cost will take place on November 1.
The traders’ body questioned where these vehicles would be parked, claiming that there was no authorised parking facility for even 200 vehicles in the immediate vicinity of Ramlila Maidan.
The CTI said the narrow lanes of Old Delhi, many of which are only 10 to 12 feet wide, could face severe congestion if vehicles entered the area, with a single truck getting stuck potentially causing traffic jams lasting several hours.
The CTI has suggested that if the rally cannot be postponed, it should be shifted to Burari Ground or Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to minimise the impact on businesses.
However, the Congress does not appear to be in a mood to either postpone the rally or change the venue.