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.
