The Congress on Thursday announced its decision to reschedule its mega rally against price rise from August 28 to September 4 in view of the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the national capital.
Former party chief Rahul Gandhi will address the ‘ Mehangai Par Halla Bol’ rally in Delhi and would be present at the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra three days later, on September 7. The padayatra will cover 3,500 km across 12 States and two Unions Territories.
“Due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, the Congress party’s Mehangai Par Halla Bol Rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, is being rescheduled from Aug 28th to Sept 4th. The rally will send a powerful message to the insensitive Modi sarkar!” tweeted Congress’ communication chief Jairam Ramesh.
Interacting with reporters later, Mr. Ramesh said that every Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) will organise ‘ Mehangai Par Halla Bol Dilli Chalo’ meetings on August 22, to be followed by district-level programmes on August 25 and Block-level meets on August 27.
“We are not only a constructive opposition but also an aggressive opposition to highlight the people’s problems and take it to the people. States will have elections and the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, and in this backdrop, we have taken to the streets and announced the ‘Mehangai Par Halla Bol’ [rally] and ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’,” Mr. Ramesh said.
The announcement was made after a meeting of senior leaders, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel at the party headquarters. Other leaders present at the meeting included general secretaries K.C. Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken, Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik, and Pawan Bansal, among others.
Before the meeting, Mr. Baghel targeted the Centre over inflation and stated that Goods and Services Tax (GST) on essential items had placed an additional burden on the common people, who are already reeling under rising prices. “The Central government has also levied GST on milk products, increasing its prices,” he said, adding, “The Central government is least bothered in providing relief to citizens from this inflation...we are protesting against this.”
