Rahul Gandhi alleges BJP forced Connaught Place shops to shut during INDIA bloc rally

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday (November 1) made a serious allegation against the BJP. He said the BJP had forcibly got shops in Delhi's Connaught Place area shut. The charges and counter-charges between the BJP and the Congress have begun again in the capital's politics.

Gandhi was travelling in an open vehicle towards the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction. He spoke to the media during this and raised the issue of the closed shops in Connaught Place.

Gandhi said people coming to Delhi for the INDIA bloc rally had been urged to buy from local traders. According to him, shops were nevertheless seen closed despite this appeal. He said that on reaching Connaught Place he learnt that the BJP had forcibly had the shops shut. He also alleged that shopkeepers were suffering losses as a result.

A day earlier, on Saturday, Gandhi had posted a video on social media. In it, he had asked people coming to Delhi to support local traders. The festivals of Diwali, Chhath and Bhai Dooj are approaching, so shopping in markets is likely to rise. Gandhi had said that along with taking part in the agitation, people should also buy goods from small local shopkeepers.

In the same video, Gandhi had claimed that traders would suffer no losses because of the INDIA bloc rally. He had also criticised the BJP for spreading rumours.

On the rally, the INDIA bloc's "Mahamela" has been held at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. Opposition parties organised it over alleged irregularities in the election process. The rally specifically demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Leaders and workers of opposition parties from different states had reached Delhi for the event.

While the opposition stages a show of strength over the Election Commission issue, Gandhi's allegation about the closed shops in Connaught Place has also emerged. Both developments have put Delhi's political atmosphere in the spotlight.