Opposition plans big Ramlila Maidan rally on November 1; Congress sets 5 lakh crowd target

A large rally of opposition parties is to be held at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on November 1. Leaders of all the parties of the INDIA bloc will attend. To make the rally grand, the Congress is holding continuous meetings with leaders. A strategy has also been drawn up to bring crowds from the states around Delhi.

Besides Delhi, leaders from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab have been given the responsibility of mobilising crowds. The leaders have been given a target of bringing together 5 lakh people at Ramlila Maidan on November 1. The BJP has criticised the decision.

The targets have been divided state-wise. The Haryana Congress has been asked to bring 1 lakh people to the rally. Each of the other states, including Uttar Pradesh, has been asked to bring 50,000. To make the rally a success, the Congress has appointed seven observers, including leaders such as Krishna Tirath and Nadeem Javed. The party wants Congress workers to be visible across Delhi, not only at Ramlila Maidan. Preparations are under way on that scale.

General secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal held a meeting with leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana yesterday. A meeting of all general secretaries, state in-charges, state presidents, legislature party leaders and senior leaders has been called in Delhi on October 26.

In addition, opposition MPs will hold a symbolic Parliament at the Ashoka Hotel in Delhi on October 30. All constituent parties of the INDIA bloc will take part in the meeting. A list of 800 people has been prepared, and the Congress has sought permission from the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Parliament Street police station.

The arrangements at the symbolic Parliament will be like those of the actual Parliament. Guests have been invited according to the total number of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members. They include MPs of both Houses as well as members of civil society.

Criticising the opposition gathering, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Why is Rahul Gandhi insistent on holding a rally in Delhi on November 1 itself? November 1 is a very emotional day for Sikhs, because Sikhs were massacred on this day. Does Rahul Gandhi want to rub salt into the wounds of Sikhs?" He said some of Gandhi's colleagues also want the date changed, but Gandhi refused. According to Prasad, it is Gandhi's nature and personality to do whatever he wants and to treat the feelings of Sikhs with cruelty.

Prasad also said that during the anti-Sikh riots, an attempt was made to justify them by saying that when a big tree falls, the earth shakes. He asked what message Gandhi wants to give by insisting on a rally on November 1, and why the date is not postponed. He said Gandhi often jokes about his turban abroad. Prasad called him a childishly stubborn man.