The Congress said 27-28 parties are involved in the rally
New Delhi:
After the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP has organised a mega rally in Delhi today, which will be attended by key leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Akhilesh Yadav.
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The ‘Loktantra Bachao’ (Save Democracy) rally, which will be held at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital, has been organised after the arrest of Mr Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor policy scam last week but is being seen as a show of strength and unity by the INDIA bloc ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
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The opposition is expected to speak out strongly against what it calls the BJP’s misuse of central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, CBI, and the Income Tax Department. The issue has taken centre stage after the arrests of Mr Kejriwal and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, and the tax notices issued to the Congress, including one for Rs 1,800 crore which was sent on Friday.
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Some of the leaders in attendance will be Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, senior party leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Senior RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav. Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, National Conference President Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, and the DMK’s Tiruchi Siva.
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The Trinamool Congress, which had jolted the alliance by deciding to go it alone in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha polls, is also likely to send a representative. The party’s leader in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien, is expected to share the stage with representatives from the Left parties, including Sitaram Yechury of the CPM, which is his party’s bitter rival in West Bengal.
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From the AAP, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will be at the rally with other senior leaders. Arvind Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal is expected to be present and Hemant Soren’s wife, Kalpana Soren, will also attend. Ms Kejriwal and Ms Soren had met on Friday and said they have decided to “take the fight forward together”.
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It is unclear whether Ms Kejriwal, who has taken a more public role after her husband’s arrest and has been accused by BJP leaders of preparing to take over the chief minister’s chair, will speak at the rally.
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The Congress has said the rally will send a “strong message” to Lok Kalyan Marg, where the Prime Minister’s residence is located, that the BJP-led government’s “time is up”. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “It is not a person-specific rally. That is why it is called Loktantra Bachao rally. This is not one party’s rally, about 27-28 parties are involved. All constituents of the INDIA ‘janbandhan’ will be taking part in the rally.”
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The AAP has received permission from the authorities to hold the rally with more than 20,000 people. AAP’s Punjab working president, Budh Ram, said the party has set a target of over 1 lakh people from the state participating in it.
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The Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory and said restrictions and diversions will be in place on several roads from 9 am to 3 pm today. Commuters have been advised to avoid the routes and use public transport, especially the Metro, as far as possible.
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The BJP has maintained that both Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate and the tax notices to the Congress were the result of the agencies acting independently and following legal procedures. It has also hit out at the AAP for insisting on the Delhi chief minister running the government from jail.