New Delhi [India], October 26 (ANI): The Chamber of Trade & Industry (CTI) Chairman Brijesh Goyal on Monday urged Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to consider rescheduling the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan to a date after Diwali, citing concerns over potential disruption to business during the festive season.
Speaking to ANI, Goyal said the rally could affect wholesale markets in the national capital, with traders anticipating significant losses due to possible restrictions on movement and access to markets.
He said the rally could lead to the closure of markets and metro stations and the imposition of barricades, affecting shoppers and businesses in the area.
The INDIA bloc is planning to hold a rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1 against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls.
"The Ramlila Maidan, where the upcoming rally is scheduled to take place, is surrounded within a five-kilometer radius by 20 major wholesale markets. Goods worth crores are dispatched daily from these hubs to destinations across the country and abroad. Now, it is being claimed that 1 million (10 lakh) people will attend the rally at Ramlila Maidan—a venue with a capacity of only 50,000. If 1 million people descend upon a space designed for 50,000, won't the entire infrastructure, including transportation, collapse?” Goyal said.
“The police will likely shut down markets, close metro stations, and set up barricades; consequently, the 3,00,000 to 4,00,000 shoppers who typically visit these markets daily will be unable to do so. The city's trade sector has already suffered a loss of Rs 3,000 crore over the last 25 days, and we estimate that this rally could result in a further loss of Rs 10,000 crore,” he said.
He urged Kharge to pass a resolution at the upcoming INDIA bloc meeting to reschedule the rally to a date after Diwali, citing the livelihoods of 20 lakh traders.
“For this reason, we have written a letter today to the Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge regarding the statement he made yesterday—in response to our (CTI’s) concerns—that they would consider the traders' demands, we welcome this gesture... We urge him—in the upcoming meeting of the 'INDIA' bloc—to pass a resolution to reschedule the November 1st rally to a date after Diwali, keeping in mind the livelihoods of 2 million (20 lakh) traders,” Goyal further said.
Earlier on Saturday, the CTI wrote to Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, urging him to postpone the November 1 rally until after November 10. The trade body cited the peak festive trading season and the potential impact on businesses in the national capital.
The festive period includes Dhanteras on November 6, Diwali on November 8 and Bhai Dooj on November 10.
A day earlier, Kharge indicated that the leadership will deliberate on a request made by Delhi’s business community to reschedule the opposition alliance's mega demonstration, assuring that a solution will be reached soon.
"The rally is scheduled for November 1. We have received an appeal from the traders. We will think about it today or tomorrow and find a solution because what we are doing is also for the public and for them," Kharge told reporters in Patna. (ANI)
“20 lakh traders’ livelihoods at stake”: CTI Chairman urges Mallikarjun Kharge to defer November 1 rally
