INDIA Bloc Ramlila Protest, BJP Counter-March & Rohtak Padyatra

India Today

Delhi witnessed competing political protests as the INDIA bloc and the BJP held rival rallies over allegations of vote theft. At Ramlila Maidan, opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, and Akhilesh Yadav, mounted a demonstration demanding the resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The BJP hit back, with Sambit Patra calling the opposition gathering a flop show. Concurrently, the BJP organised a counter-march in Delhi citing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and criticising the date of the rally, while party president Nitin Nabin led a padayatra in Rohtak, Haryana, under the banner of Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao.

Transcript

00:00Delhi witnessed a day of competing political protests today

00:03as the India Bloc and the BJP took their battle over Vochori to the streets

00:07with rival rallies, sharp attacks and also competing claims.

00:11At Ramlila Maidan, on one hand, the opposition mounted a show of strength

00:15against the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar

00:17with Rahul Gandhi, Malik Arjun Kargay, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav

00:21and several other India Bloc leaders leading the charge.

00:24Rahul Gandhi demanded the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner,

00:29and also his arrest, accusing the BJP of hijacking the institutions

00:34and coming to power through alleged vote theft.

00:37Taking a swipe at the BJP's Modi kahi nahi jayega slogan, Rahul Gandhi declared

00:42that Modi would not be allowed to escape accountability over Vochori.

00:47Meanwhile, the BJP hit back, questioning the opposition's claims of a massive turnout.

00:51Remember, they were claiming that close to 10 lakh people will be present

00:55at the Ramlila Maidan for this mega rally.

00:57Samit Patra from the BJP dismissed the rally as a waste of time,

01:01calling it a flop show, alleging that large parts of the venue remained vacant.

01:06But the opposition wasn't the only one which was mobilising on the streets.

01:10The BJP also staged a parallel march in Delhi, invoking the 1984 anti-Sikh riots

01:15and also accusing the India Bloc of choosing an insensitive date for its rally.

01:20Remember, the BJP had been demanding the opposition to shift the date

01:24from 1st of November, citing the anti-Sikh riots which happened in 1984.

01:29Meanwhile, not just in Delhi, the BJP was also taking out a padhyatra in Haryana's Rohtag.

01:34It was led by BJP President Nitin Nabeen, who flagged off this Lok Tantra Bachao,

01:39a Rajap Taha Tao march, countering the opposition's vote-chory campaign.

01:42So two protests, two competing narratives, but one big question.

01:46Who made their point and what did these protests achieve?

01:50We'll debate that tonight, but first the reactions.

01:52It was illegal, it was illegal, it was illegal, it was illegal, it was illegal.

02:04And I'm not saying this, I'm not saying this, this is what the election commission is saying.

02:09It's illegal, it's illegal.

Category

Transcript

Recommended