Politics
Congress Rejects Plea to Delay Delhi Protest Over Festival Season
Traders warn of heavy financial losses during Diwali, but opposition leaders insist the government must first dismiss the chief election commissioner.
By Headlinne · Compiled from reporting by Hindu, NDTV and Times of India
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi rejected an appeal from New Delhi merchants to defer a planned political demonstration, telling them on Monday that the gathering would end immediately if Prime Minister Narendra Modi dismissed the chief election commissioner.
The Chamber of Trade and Industry had asked the opposition alliance to postpone its November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan until after November 10 to protect commerce during the peak festival shopping period.
Traders warned that mass demonstrations and associated road closures could disrupt business worth 10,000 crore rupees across the capital just days before major celebrations including Dhanteras and Diwali.
According to the Chamber of Trade and Industry, local markets typically generate approximately 25,000 crore rupees in turnover around Dhanteras across sectors such as gold, silver, electronics and automobiles.
The trade organization added that merchants had already suffered losses of around 3,000 crore rupees in October due to previous rallies, marches and road closures in central Delhi.
The opposition rally forms part of a broader campaign led by the INDIA bloc to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over his handling of recent electoral rolls.
In a post on social media, Rahul Gandhi accused the administration of restricting movement and harming livelihoods through heavy security measures.
"To every trader in Delhi: We love you and hear you. The Government shut the metro, sealed our roads and locked down our capital," said Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
"Tell Modi to sack accused no. 4, Gyanesh Kumar and the protests will stop in 30 seconds," he added.
Congress leader Pawan Khera echoed those remarks on Monday, stating that government obstinacy was the primary obstacle to resolving the dispute.
"If Modi and Shah are truly concerned about Delhi’s traders and genuinely want to stop the 1st November rally, they must sack Gyanesh Gupta and address our demands immediately," said Pawan Khera, a Congress party member, though reports differed slightly on the spelling of the official's surname.
Meanwhile, ruling party officials criticized the planned demonstration for its historical timing and potential to create unrest.
Sudhanshu Trivedi, a spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party, accused the opposition of scheduling the protest for November 1 to foment anarchy, linking the date to past riots.
Authorities have granted formal permission for the opposition alliance to proceed with the November 1 gathering at the Ramlila Maidan site.
Reporting from
- The HinduBalanced
Tell Modi to sack Gyanesh Kumar, protests will stop in 30 seconds: Rahul to traders
- NDTVLeans left
Rahul Gandhi Tells Traders How To End Ramlila Maidan Protest In '30 Seconds'
- Times of IndiaLeft framing
'Ball in their court': Cong asks PM Modi to sack CEC if concerned about Delhi traders
How this article was made: Headlinne wrote it with AI from the 3 reports listed above. Direct quotes are checked word for word against those reports, every number appears in at least one of them, and no other sentence is copied from one. Photos are from those reports and credited to them. Each report’s page on Headlinne links to the outlet’s original.