New Delhi:
Rahul Gandhi had a cheeky response — a suggestion, actually — after some sections of traders said the Opposition’s November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi would disrupt their sales in the festive season. Gandhi put up a short video, seated in a moving car, urging the “lakhs of people” expected in Delhi for the rally to also shop at the city’s markets after they are done with the protest against alleged electoral fraud.
“Tomorrow, along with protesting, marching and attending the rally, do a little shopping too. It will help our local traders,” the Leader of Opposition said in the video posted on X. “I know that our rally will not hurt the traders. The BJP is spreading rumours because it is scared. But let’s do both,” he added.
The post came hours after a traders’ body asked Congress-led INDIA bloc constituents to persuade the main Opposition party to postpone the event until after Diwali.
नमस्कार, कल लाखों लोग रामलीला मार्च के लिए दिल्ली आ रहे हैं। त्यौहारों का मौसम है। दिवाली, छठ, भाईदूज का समय है। मैं चाहता हूं जो लाखों लोग बाहर से दिल्ली आ रहे हैं, वो यहां के व्यापारियों की मदद करें। प्रोटेस्ट, मार्च, रैली कीजिए, साथ में थोड़ी सी खरीदारी भी कीजिए – व्यापारियों का फायदा हो जाएगा। मैं जानता हूं व्यापारियों को रैली नुकसान नहीं पहुंचाएगी। BJP डरी हुई है इसलिए अफवाह फैला रही है। मगर, दोनों काम करते हैं। कल मार्च होगा, रैली होगी और लाखों लोग हमारे व्यापारियों की छोटी-छोटी दुकानों में से सामान खरीदेंगे। आप सबको बहुत-बहुत प्यार। शुभ दिवाली। जय हिंद। Tomorrow, lakhs of people are coming to Delhi for the Ramlila March. It is the festive season. Diwali, Chhath and Bhai Dooj are here. I want the lakhs of people coming to Delhi from different parts of the country to support the local traders here. Tomorrow, along with protesting, marching and attending the rally, do a little shopping too. It will help our local traders. I know that our rally will not hurt the traders. The BJP is spreading rumours because it is scared. But let’s do both. Tomorrow, there will be a march, there will be a rally, and lakhs of people will also buy things from the small shops of our local traders. Much love to all of you. Happy Diwali. Jai Hind.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 31, 2026
Gandhi pointed to the festive calendar, with Diwali, Chhath and Bhai Dooj approaching. “I want the lakhs of people coming to Delhi from different parts of the country to support the local traders here,” he said.
“Tomorrow, there will be a march, there will be a rally, and lakhs of people will also buy things from the small shops of our local traders,” he added.
He signed off with “Happy Diwali. Jai Hind.”
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Dhanteras falls on November 6 and Diwali on November 8. Traders say November 1 is among the most important days for stocking goods ahead of the festive rush.
The police have granted conditional permission for the rally and directed organisers to park vehicles only at designated locations.
The post did not refer directly to the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI). This was the group that wrote to INDIA bloc leaders Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD and Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT), seeking their intervention to have the rally moved to a date after November 11.
The association had approached Rahul Gandhi three times but could not get him to change the date, CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal said. According to CTI, daily business worth Rs 10,000-12,000 crore is at stake across around 20 major wholesale and retail markets in central and Old Delhi, areas that include Connaught Place and Chandni Chowk among other major shopping destinations. Goyal stressed the association was not against the rally. He said it feared that an expected gathering of 10 lakh people and 15,000-20,000 vehicles could bring commercial activity to a standstill.
READ | ‘Make Him A Mock PM’: BJP’s Jibe At Rahul Gandhi Over ‘Impeachment’ Move
Earlier on Saturday, the INDIA bloc held what it called a “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at a mock parliament at 10 Rajaji Marg, the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, with former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar presiding.
Kharge moved the symbolic motion, listing six “charges” against the CEC, including that he “conspired to steal elections” and “deleted 13.2 crore voters”, and demanded that Gyanesh Kumar be “removed forthwith” and “tried for treason”.
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In his remarks, Rahul Gandhi said, “If Gyanesh Kumar thinks that legal immunity will save him, I would suggest to him, look at the mood of the people of this country. We guarantee you, Opposition leaders and the public will not let you escape.”
BJP spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan dismissed the event, telling news agency IANS, “This is a mockery, not a mock parliament.”
The November 1 rally is the latest in a series of protests by the Opposition, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and other groups demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restoration of the pre-SIR rolls. The SIR has deleted about 13 crore names, around 14 per cent of the pre-SIR total. Groups outside the bloc have also backed the rally’s agenda, though the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has stressed that it is not part of the INDIA bloc.
On Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah challenged Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to debate the electoral rolls in a special session of Parliament. “We have nothing to hide. Let us convene a special session of Parliament,” Shah said in Lucknow.
The issue did come up briefly in Parliament but the Opposition alleged the government was trying to merely deliver a statement and move on.
