Congress on Monday countered BJP criticism of the INDIA bloc rally held on 1 November. Jairam Ramesh said rally participants supported local traders by shopping in Delhi markets. He argued that protesters helped businesses instead of causing disruption, while the party continued its demand for electoral accountability from Gyanesh Kumar.
Jairam Ramesh says rally participants supported local businesses, challenging warnings that the INDIA bloc protest would derail festive trade
Jairam Ramesh said rally participants supported Delhi's traders, countering BJP warnings of business disruption.
Rahul Gandhi had urged protesters to shop locally while attending the INDIA bloc rally.
Ramesh accused the BJP of using traders' concerns to divert attention from demands for electoral accountability.
Congress on Monday pushed back against the BJP's criticism of the INDIA bloc's Delhi rally , with party general secretary Jairam Ramesh saying protesters had actually supported local traders while raising demands for electoral accountability.
In a post on X, Ramesh said participants responded to Rahul Gandhi's appeal by shopping in Delhi's markets, demonstrating that democratic protest and commercial activity could go together.
He said wholesale markets in Old Delhi opened and witnessed brisk trade, while small shopkeepers and street vendors also benefited from purchases by people visiting the capital for the rally. He cited newspaper reports as evidence that warnings of widespread disruption had failed to reflect the full picture.
The dispute began before the 1 November gathering at Ramlila Maidan, when traders' organisations sought its postponement until after Diwali. The Chamber of Trade and Industry warned that large crowds, traffic restrictions and difficulties transporting goods could affect markets such as Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazaar, Khari Baoli and Bhagirath Palace during a crucial trading period.
The BJP amplified criticism of the event. Party MP Praveen Khandelwal dismissed Gandhi's appeal to rally participants to shop locally, saying traders needed customers rather than political crowds.
.Tell Modi to sack Gyanesh, protests will stop in 30 sec: Rahul to traders. Gandhi had urged supporters to buy from Delhi's shops alongside attending the protest, presenting the gathering as an opportunity to support local businesses during the festive season.
Ramesh argued that visitors arriving from across the country would create business opportunities, benefiting traders directly and indirectly. He accused the BJP of turning concerns about market access into a campaign to discourage participation and shift attention away from the opposition's questions about the electoral process.
According to Ramesh, the underlying objective of the BKP was to protect Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from demands for accountability. The INDIA bloc organised the rally to press for Kumar's resignation over its charges of "vote theft" and objections to the revision of electoral rolls.
Accounts of the rally's commercial impact remained contested. CTI representatives warned of extensive shop closures and disruption, while Ramesh pointed to trading activity and purchases by protesters. No independently verified, citywide assessment of the event's effect on business was available in the reports cited.
Thanking Delhi's traders, shopkeepers and residents, Ramesh said their response showed that supporting livelihoods and exercising democratic rights were compatible. He maintained that warnings about business losses would not prevent citizens from defending their vote or demanding answers from public institutions.