Delhi BJP asks Congress to defer November 1 rally

Delhi BJP President Harsh Malhotra on Sunday appealed to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to suspend all political protests until Diwali and Bhai Dooj. He said a large rally announced in Delhi on November 1, just before Diwali, has angered traders and the Sikh community.

Malhotra said trade bodies CTI, CAIT, and Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh oppose the rally. He said Delhi’s business community fears losing business worth crores of rupees during the festive season. The BJP leader said he was speaking both as Delhi BJP President and as a businessman.

He also pointed to the Sikh community, which observes three days from October 31 to November 2 in remembrance of the 1984 Sikh massacre. According to Malhotra, anger runs through the community, which is distressed by what it considers Congress’s insensitivity to its sentiments. “Unfortunately, Congress has neither any concern for the country’s trade, nor any respect for Diwali, the biggest festival of Hindu society, nor any regard for the sentiments of the Sikh community,” he said.

The BJP leader made a series of political charges. He said that since July 2026, an opposition alliance, particularly Rahul Gandhi, has been trying to create an atmosphere of anarchy in the country.

He alleged that Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, aiming to regain lost political relevance, started the “NEET” examination movement and then created the “Cockroach Janta Party” to occupy Opposition space.

Malhotra said a battle for dominance has emerged between Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA alliance on one side and Kejriwal on the other, over who can become the bigger anarchic opposition force. He said figures he described as politically irrelevant, such as Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan and Rakesh Tikait, also keep jumping into this contest.

He said this opposition triangle announces protests in Delhi and Mumbai on different days, almost every day. He noted that Delhi is the national Capital and the country’s second-largest commercial centre, while Mumbai is the largest business centre. In his words, the way Congress and AAP have announced protests in the two cities since July 2026 “clearly shows that they are working to destroy the country’s trade with funding from a foreign power.” He did not offer any evidence for the funding claim in the statement.

Malhotra also said Congress, under Rahul Gandhi, whom he said engages in political theatrics while holding a copy of Constitution, has become the most anarchic party in the country.