Delhi protests and political marches planned ahead of Diwali have raised concerns among traders about business disruption, while the Delhi Police has deployed around 10,000 personnel across central parts of the capital for crowd control and security.
The INDIA bloc’s ‘Chalo Delhi’ march is scheduled to begin from the Constitution Club at 11 am, with participants moving from the Minto Road-Conaught Place area towards Ramlila Maidan. The opposition alliance is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and has alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The march is expected to include Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, according to Jagran’s report.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is organising a separate march in west Delhi to commemorate the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The procession is scheduled to begin at 11.30 am from the Hari Nagar bus depot and end near Tilak Nagar Metro station. Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, HS Phoolka, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj are expected to participate.
The BJP has accused the Congress of organising its rally around the anniversary of the riots. The two programmes are taking place close to Diwali, when traders typically depend on increased customer movement and seasonal sales. The Chamber of Trade and Industry and the Federation of Sadar Bazar Traders Association had written to senior opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee, asking them to postpone the Ramlila Maidan rally until after Diwali. The traders’ request was not accepted, according to the report.
Security arrangements have been strengthened across central Delhi. More than 4,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been assigned to Ramlila Maidan and its surrounding areas, while additional forces have been deployed across the wider central zone. The Connaught Place, Jantar Mantar and Election Commission office areas have been placed under heightened security, with barricading and increased vehicle monitoring.
Central Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Rohit Rajbir said the area had been covered by between 200 and 250 CCTV cameras. He added that organisers had their own control room and were coordinating with the police to secure the area. Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Devesh Chandra Srivastava reviewed preparations at Ramlila Maidan on Saturday afternoon.
The immediate effects for commuters and businesses will depend on the movement of marchers, road restrictions and the duration of security measures. Police preparations are currently focused on managing the two scheduled events and maintaining security around major public and commercial locations in central and west Delhi.
