As the INDIA bloc gathered Sunday at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav attended the event to present the show of strength by the opposition ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, party vice president Omar Abdullah, and PDP party leader Mehbooba Mufti also attended the rally. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant and Sharad Pawar were also present.
Large posters of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and KC Venugopal are seen in parts of Delhi ahead of the INDIA bloc’s ‘Save Democracy’ rally, held at Ramlila Maidan later today.
“Five-point demands” were made by the opposition parties. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi read the demands to the public.
- The Election Commission must guarantee fair competition among all political parties.
- The Election Commission should cease forced investigations by agencies such as the ED and CBI, which exploit the mishandling of election funds as a pretext.
- The demand to immediately release Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal was made.
- The oppressive financial constraints imposed on opposition parties must cease.
- Establishing an SIT under the supervision of the Supreme Court to investigate the BJP’s utilisation of election funds, allegations of extortion, and other offences is imperative.
AAP announced six guarantees
AAP workers gather at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi ahead of the INDIA bloc’s ‘Save Democracy’ rally, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Atishi, the Delhi minister, said that people from all over the country had reached the rally by 10 in the morning against the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. “The people of Delhi are aware that Arvind Kejriwal has changed their lives. He is under arrest; still, he is worried about Delhi and is sending messages for them.
Senior AAP leader and Delhi minister, Gopal Rai, began the rally with a welcome address. Rai is the Delhi convenor of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party. He said, “Protests have erupted in the whole country since March 21. No one is able to understand why a sitting CM has been arrested. But it is not just Arvind Kejriwal. Before arresting the Delhi CM, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren was arrested. With the misuse of the ED and CBI, democracy is under attack.”
On behalf of Kejrival, his wife Suntita Kejriwal announced six guarantees, including 24-hour nationwide electricity, free electricity for the poor across the nation, Good government schools in all villages and colonies; Mohalla clinics for all mohallas (colonies) and villages; MSP for farmers as per the Swaminathan committee report; and full statehood for Delhi.
“We have Lok Sabha polls before us; umpires were chosen by PM Modi.”
While addressing the public during the “Loktantra Bachao,” Rahul Gandhi compared the election to the IPL cricket match. He said,“ “IPL matches are being held today. When umpires are pressurised, players are bought, and captains are threatened to win matches, it is called match fixing in cricket. We have Lok Sabha polls before us; umpires were chosen by PM Modi.”
“This match-fixing is done not just by Narendra Modi. This match-fixing is done by Narendra Modi and three-four billionaires,’ he added further.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “You have to decide if you want democracy or dictatorship… Those who support dictatorship need to be kicked out of the country. The BJP and RSS are like poison. You will die even if you taste poison.”
“This is a stage for ‘unity in diversity’. There’s unity in our diversity, and that’s why this rally has been organised. I thank all our partners for this. This meeting has just one aim, and that is to unite the opposition,” says Kharge.
TMC announces them to be a part of India
Derek O’Brien, Trinamool MP said, “The Trinamool Congress was, is, and will always be a part of INDIA. The Modi government gives zero warranty when it comes to democracy and protecting the institutions”.
He also raised the 2019 Pulwama attack saying that former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik publicly said that “Narendra Modi did not want the truth to come out”.
“What did Narendra Modi want to hide?” Derek O’Brien asked. “Why did Narendra Modi do cheap politics, desperately seeking votes, when our jawans sacrificed their lives?”
He added: “We demand the truth to come out to honor our jawans. We demand a white paper!”
At the rally, TMC MP Sagarika Ghosh also expressed the party’s support for the INDIA bloc.
“On behalf of the TMC and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, I want to state that the TMC is with Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP. I also want to state that the TMC is with the INDIA alliance,” she said.
Shiv Sena in support of Kejriwal and Sunita
We all know this is not an election rally. Our two sisters (Kalpana Soren and Sunita Kejriwal) are fighting with courage; how can a brother stay away from the fight? The entire country is with you. There was an apprehension about whether India was moving towards dictatorship. But now it’s already there. It’s time to throw out one party, one man rule. We must bring a’mili juli’ sarkar (coalition government): Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief
SP condemns Kejriwal’s arrest.
The BJP’s concern is that it is going out of power. It is a new invention that ED, CBI, and IT are deployed, and donations are raised. No one in the universe has lied as much as the BJP. It is being criticised all over the world after Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. Akhilesh Yadav, SP chief
CPI (M) United Against ‘Dictatorship’
CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, during the Maha Rally at the Ramlila Maidan in the national capital, says, “A new energy in the politics of India has been born today… Today, the slogan for independence is being raised here… It is our independence that our Constitution and our republic are protected. We will gain this independence.”
Brinda Karat, CPI (M), said, “The message is that people from all over the country have gathered against this dictator and communal government. This Maha rally in Delhi is against Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren’s arrest, UAPA’s constant use, and ED-CBI’s misuse. It only shows that this government is not confident.”
BJP Reacts
While responding to the mega rally where political parties and people from all over India were present, the BJP leader Jaiveer Sherhuil said, “The INDI opposition meeting happening in Delhi today is not a political gathering but ‘Alibaba and chaalis chor (40 thieves)’ meet up where the only objective is to devise a strategy on how to do corruption and loot India. The Congress in the rally must explain how the same Congress, which is a complainant in the liquor scam and is seeking Kejriwal’s arrest and investigation against him, is today holding a rally objecting to his arrest. Aam Aadmi Party’s political desperation and frustration are evident as it shares a stage with RJD when Kejriwal calls Lalu Prasad Yadav corrupt and shares a stage with Congress, which Aam Aadmi Party calls corrupt on a daily basis. The voter of 2024 is seeing that the glue that holds this INDI together is love for the corrupt.”
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa attacked the rally for the location they chose: “They all have gathered at Ramlila Maidan, a place in the name of Lord Ram whom they were not ready to believe in.”
