In an effort to express solidarity with the AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who has been in Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in the liquorgate scam case, top INDI Alliance leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aditya Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav among others will attend a ‘Maharally’ to be held at the Ramlila ground on March 31. The rally is being organized to “safeguard the country’s interests and democracy”. The AAP leaders said they are also in touch with PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, who may join the rally.
According to the party’s senior leadership, they are planning a show of strength at the Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, from where they may launch a massive campaign against the ruling BJP government for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Election Commission and Delhi Police on Friday granted permission to INDIA leaders to hold this rally in the national capital on Sunday. In its permission notice, the Delhi Police said that the programme will take place from 9.30am to 2pm on Sunday.
After AAP got permission for the rally, Rai posted on X, “All big leaders of the INDIA alliance partners are coming to Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on March 31. People of Delhi are also preparing to come. We have received the permission for the rally. So far, names of Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, Farooq Abdullah, Bhagwant Mann, Champai Soren, Tejashwi Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, Derek O’ Brien, Trichy Shiva, D Raja, Dipaknkar Bhattacharya, Kalpana Soren and G Devarajan have been confirmed.”
The AAP has initiated a widespread campaign, distributing invitation letters across the populace to ensure maximum participation. Rai, along with party workers, took the message directly to the people in Regarpura, Karol Bagh, urging them to join the INDIA Alliance mega rally scheduled for March 31st. The AAP has made a three-tier plan to motivate the people to come to the rally. First the meetings were held at the Vidhan Sabha level, then all the 2600 polling stations level and now a door-to-door campaign has started.
Earlier in the day, the INDI Alliance leaders postponed their protest outside the BJP headquarters in the national capital on Friday in protest of the arrest of Kejriwal and the electoral bond issue. According to them, they were not granted permission by the Delhi police. Taking a dig at the postponement of the protest, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that both the Congress and AAP are not on the same page. “The cancellation of the demonstration clearly shows that both AAP & Congress leaders are unable to persuade their workers to hold joint demonstrations. AAP’s failure to gather party workers and refusal of Congress workers to Join the INDI Alliance demonstration forced the AAP to cancel the demonstration. Yesterday evening AAP issued media invite & press releases but Congress did not issue any invite nor was invite issued on official INDI Alliance letterhead,” he said.
Multiple layers of barricades have been set up and a large number of police personnel deployed on roads leading to the BJP headquarters here in view of INDI Alliance’s protest. Besides police personnel, those of paramilitary forces have also been stationed at many places in Central Delhi, including on the DDU Marg and around the ITO area. Kejriwal, who is in the Enforcement Directorate’s custody, was arrested by the agency on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.
