New Delhi:
The Congress is pulling all the stops to ensure the success of the rally against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar that will be held at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday. The party is determined that it be a show of strength for the Opposition INDIA Bloc.
“Our target is to bring 10 lakh (one million) people. Ensuring the success of this rally is the collective responsibility of all parties within the INDIA alliance, and everyone is actively involved,” Congress Rajya Sabha MP Nasir Hussain told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Besides the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and all Left-wing parties have been entrusted with significant responsibilities, he said.
“The Congress has directed all its Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and Legislative Councils (MLCs) from various states, as well as state-level party officials, to participate in this rally,” he added.
Asked about the potential impact on the businesses of traders near Ramlila Maidan -particularly in Chandni Chowk – and the ‘padyatra’ (foot march) planned by the BJP national president in the same area, Hussain said it will provide a huge boost to business.
The people who come for the rally will stay, eat and visit the area and would end up shopping for Diwali, he said.
“They won’t leave empty-handed. When people visit Delhi, they almost always buy something to take back home. With such a large number of banners, flags, and posters being produced, and the need for vehicles to transport people, won’t this stimulate trade? This rally will, in fact, prove beneficial for the traders,” he added.
There is only one hurdle: With the implementation of GRAP-1 in Delhi starting November 1 due to pollution, vehicles that are not BS-VI compliant will be barred from entering -making the task of gathering a large crowd a significant challenge.
Outlining the Congress strategy, Hussain said now that the BJP is reacting to the Opposition pressure, the Congress wants to keep it up.
“The Congress realizes that the BJP is fully prepared to counter it with its own strategy -a fact underscored by the BJP national president himself, who kicked things off with a *padyatra* (foot march) in Chandni Chowk,” he said.
The Congress has now decided to keep its campaign on the street while keeping a close watch on the proceedings in the Supreme Court, he said.
And though many in the INDIA alliance were sceptical about Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge’s claims on vote theft, now they are completely on board with the campaign, he said.
“The Congress emphasises that the right to vote was enshrined in the Constitution by Dr BR Ambedkar – a right that was not even available to all citizens in many other developing nations at the time. In India, the right to vote was granted to everyone, transcending barriers of wealth, caste, gender, and religion. The Congress aims to convince the public that, under the pretext of the ‘SIR’ issue, the government intends to strip them of this fundamental right,” he said.
In fact, the BJP will not even stop there. “The next target could be the very status of citizenship,” he said.
The Congress is set to organise a ‘mock parliament’ on Friday. The party believes that by repeatedly raising the matter, it can firmly embed the issue in people’s minds.
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