INDIA bloc rally LIVE | Priyanka lists 5 demands of alliance
Speaking at the rally, Rahul Gandhi says, “...If the BJP wins these fixed elections, and changes the Constitution, the country will be on fire. Remember this.”
In a show of Opposition unity ahead of Lok Sabha polls, INDIA bloc leaders came together for a mega rally at Delhi’s Ramlila ground on Sunday (March 31) in the backdrop of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest.
Among the INDIA bloc leaders present at the ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally are Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, and Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren were among the first to reach the Ramlila Maidan.
Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar and Rahul Gandhi at the rally on Sunday | X/@kharge
Congress leaders speak
Speaking at the rally, Rahul Gandhi said, “...If the BJP wins these fixed elections, and changes the Constitution, the country will be on fire. Remember this.”
Addressing the crowd, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “You (the people) have to decide if you want democracy or dictatorship... Those who support dictatorship need to be kicked out of the country... BJP and RSS are like poison. You will die even if you taste it...”
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “INDIA Alliance has five demands. First, the Election Commission should ensure equal opportunity in the Lok Sabha elections. Second, the ECI should stop the forceful action against the opposition taken by the ED, CBI and IT. Third, Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal should be released immediately. Fourth, attempts to weaken the opposition financially should be stopped. Fifth, an SIT should be formed to investigate the funds raised by the BJP through electoral bonds.”
The crowd at INDIA bloc's rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday | X/@kharge
Wives of arrested leaders get a voice
Kejriwal’s wife Sunita and arrested former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana Soren also joined the INDIA bloc leaders on stage. Sunita read out a message from her husband, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
Sunita said, “The people of Delhi have faced injustice in the past 75 years. We will make Delhi a full state if the INDIA bloc comes to power.”
“Mother India is in pain; this tyranny won’t work. My husband is getting lots of blessings,” Sunita said at the rally.
Kalpana also addressed the crowd. “I am standing in front of you as the voice of 50 per cent of India’s women population and 9 per cent of the tribal community...Today this gathering testifies that you all have come from every part of the country to end dictatorship...,” she said.
Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai had said on Saturday that the INDIA rally was the last chance to save India’s Constitution and democracy. The Congress had asserted that the ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally was aimed at saving the Constitution and democracy and not any particular person.
Live Updates
- 31 March 2024 2:04 PM IST
If voted to power, INDIA bloc will fulfil six guarantees: Sunita Kejriwal
Tyranny won’t work and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal cannot be kept behind bars for long, said Sunita Kejriwal, reading out her husband’s message from Enforcement Directorate custody at the INDIA bloc’s ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally.
In her maiden speech at a political rally, Sunita also asked people whether Kejriwal should resign as Chief Minister.
“The BJP is demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Kejriwal. Should he resign? Is his arrest justified? He is a lion. They won’t be able to keep him behind bars for long,” she said.
Sunita thanked people for showering blessings on her husband.
“This tyranny will not work. My husband is getting lots of blessings,” she said.
Kejriwal’s message included six guarantees on behalf of the INDIA bloc — uninterrupted power supply, free electricity for the poor, government schools, Mohalla Clinics and multi-speciality hospitals, minimum support price for farmers, and full statehood for Delhi.
“People of Delhi have faced injustice for the last 75 years. Their government was handicapped. We will make Delhi a full state if the INDIA bloc comes to power…. If you give an opportunity to the INDIA bloc, we will build a great nation,” Sunita said while reading out her husband’s message.
“Mother India is in pain. She feels pained when people do not get uninterrupted power supply or when someone dies without getting treatment,” she added.
- 31 March 2024 2:02 PM IST
We are here for our sisters: Uddhav
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray claimed at the INDIA bloc rally that the country was moving towards becoming an “autocracy” as he appealed to the people of the country to throw the BJP out of power.
Hitting out at the BJP, he said, “We are not here for an election campaign, we are here to save democracy... you level allegations and send people to jail. What kind of government is this?”
“When two of our sisters are fighting, how can the brother stay behind? So we are here for our sisters, Kalpana ji and Sunita ji. Not just us, the whole country is with you,” Thackeray said, referring to former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal.
Both Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren have been arrested by federal agencies in different cases of corruption.
“Some time ago, we had this doubt that our nation is moving towards an autocracy... It’s not a doubt anymore, it is a reality... If the BJP government thinks that people will get scared by arresting Hemant ji and Arvind ji, they don’t know Indians. We are not people who get scared, we fight,” Thackeray said.
The former Maharashtra chief minister accused the BJP of misusing the ED, CBI and Income Tax Department, and said they should declare that the three agencies are their allies.
“They are dreaming of crossing 400 seats. I want to appeal to the whole nation that the government of one party has become dangerous for the country. This will not work anymore. We want a strong nation, we will have to bring in a coalition government. One that respects all states,” he said.
Thackeray also appealed to all farmers to throw the BJP out of power.
“They (BJP) did not allow farmers to come to Delhi. They put nails on the roads and used tear gas... The government calls farmers terrorists and stops them from coming to Delhi... The farmers of the country will have to stop them (BJP) from coming to Delhi again,” he added.
- 31 March 2024 1:57 PM IST
BJP being criticised globally over Kejriwal's arrest: Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said the BJP is “worried” about losing power as he attacked the ruling party for “misusing” probe agencies to target the opposition.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also said that the BJP is being “criticised” across the world for the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Yadav, who arrived in Delhi for the INDIA Bloc rally at Ramlila ground, told reporters at the airport, “The BJP is worried that it is going (out of power). While we (opposition leaders) are coming to Delhi today, the PM is going out of Delhi. This shows who is going out (of power).”
He was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Meerut later in the day.
While mounting an attack on the government over the issue of electoral bonds scheme, he said, “This is a new invention... put ED, CBI, IT to work, and get as much donation as you like.”
On Kejriwal’s arrest, he claimed, “The BJP is being criticised across the world for arresting Arvind Kejriwal.”
“It proves the government can do what it wants. Hemant Soren went to jail, Arvind Kejriwal went to jail... There are allegations on all opposition leaders, and the loot the BJP is doing in Uttar Pradesh, the way corruption is being done, would there be any action?” he said.
