Delhi police approve Nov 1 Ramlila Maidan rally but deny Connaught Place march as traders renew postponement plea

Delhi Police confirmed on Saturday, October 31, that permission has been granted for the INDIA bloc rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1, but no approval has been given for a march starting from Connaught Place. On the same day, the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI), which represents Delhi traders, wrote again to opposition leaders asking for the rally to be postponed until after Diwali, warning that 20 historic markets in central Delhi could come to a standstill at the peak of the festive shopping season.

Police decision: rally yes, march no

According to reports, police sources said no application had been made for the march from the Minto Road junction near Connaught Place, via Ajmeri Gate, to Ramlila Maidan, and it had not been approved. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had called on supporters on social media to gather at Minto Road at noon on Sunday, November 1, and walk to the rally venue. Police also noted that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita are in force in the New Delhi area, including near the Election Commission, and that Jantar Mantar is no longer a designated protest site. Police said extensive security arrangements, including personnel from several Delhi Police districts and paramilitary forces, would be in place around Ramlila Maidan.

Traders' renewed plea: festive business cannot stop

CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal said traders are not opposing the rally itself, but are concerned about its timing. Dhanteras falls on November 6 and Diwali on November 8, making November 1 one of the busiest days for festive preparations. The CTI estimates that if 10 lakh people and 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles descend on central Delhi that day, daily business worth Rs 10,000 to 12,000 crore across 20 historic markets would come to a complete standstill. The markets named include Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, Connaught Place and Karol Bagh. The CTI asked for the rally to be postponed to November 10 or 11 or later, or, if the date cannot move, for the venue to shift from Ramlila Maidan to Burari Maidan, which it says has parking space for around 15,000 vehicles.

The CTI said disruption could begin as early as the afternoon of October 31, with buses and vehicles carrying rally participants arriving at Delhi's borders at Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur and Badarpur, barricades possibly going up in the evening along Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and JLN Marg, and transporters already refusing to dispatch vehicles from October 31. The body wrote to Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday, and on Saturday wrote to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other bloc leaders, saying three earlier letters to Rahul Gandhi had not been accepted and describing the new appeal as a last hope.

Background and what happens next

The rally is part of the opposition bloc's campaign against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. A symbolic public impeachment programme against the CEC, postponed on Friday because of rain, was rescheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at 10, Rajaji Marg. Whether the Ramlila Maidan rally proceeds as planned, and whether any march from Connaught Place goes ahead, will depend on further arrangements between police and the organisers.