New Delhi: Displaying their show of strength, ‘INDIA’ bloc leaders participated in a mega rally at Delhi’s Ram Lila ground on Sunday and urged people to vote out Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
The leaders from various parties, including TMC, DMK, PDP, and Shiv Sena (UBT), accused the government of misusing central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), CBI, and Income Tax (I-T) departments to target the opposition.
Among the senior leaders in attendance at the rally were Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and KC Venugopal.
Senior AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren also addressed the rally.
Speaking at the rally, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi made five demands on behalf of the INDIA bloc, which included the immediate release of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand CM and JMM leader Hemant Soren.
Among other demands, she said that the Election Commission must ensure equal opportunities for everyone in elections, central agencies should stop coercive action, any action to strangulate the funding of opposition parties should be stopped, and a special investigation team (SIT) should be set up under the supervision of the Supreme Court to look into allegations of extortion through electoral bonds.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the ruling BJP was choosing umpires and putting players behind bars, thus engaging in’match-fixing’ ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
He said that the Lok Sabha election is not an ordinary election, but an opportunity to save the country’s constitution and democracy.
In his speech at the rally, Mallikarjun Kharge accused PM Modi of putting pressure on opposition parties to not come together in the election, and for this, he made all attempts.
“First pressure was put on Hemant Soren to join the BJP. When he did not agree, he was arrested. Attempts were also made to topple the governments of Jharkhand and Himachal. After all this, a total of 12 accounts of the Congress Party were frozen. Notices after notices are being sent,” he said.
Flexing muscles at Ram Lila Maidan here in the national capital, opposition alliance leaders extended their support to arrested Delhi chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and also Hemant Soren, the former chief minister of Jharkhand.
AAP Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal read out his message, which included six guarantees to people if elected to power.
“We are going to give six guarantees. They are 24*7 electricity, free power for the poor, world-class schools in villages, Mohalla clinics in villages, and multi-speciality hospitals in districts; a fair price (MSP) for farmers in line with the Swaminathan report, and full state status for Delhi. These guarantees will be fulfilled in five years,” read the message from Arvind Kejriwal.
Speaking at the rally, CPI General Secretary D Raja said, “My party, the Communist Party of India, joins all of you to declare our common resolve to save India, to save the Constitution, to save democracy, and to defeat the BJP.”
The message from TMC Supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee read, “We are part of the INDIA alliance with all our strength.”
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said at the rally that the country is currently going through a very difficult phase and people are being put behind bars without ‘vakil, daleel or appeal’.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray urged the people to remove the BJP from power, stating that the apprehension of the country moving towards dictatorship was very real.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that democracy was under threat in the country.
Added RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav, “There is an undeclared emergency in the country.”
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav also addressed the rally and said that the BJP was set to lose power in the coming Lok Sabha election.
UNI
