VHP Questions INDIA Bloc Rally Timing, Says Politics Cannot Come Above Festivals, Economy

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday questioned the timing of the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally being held amid Diwali festivities and said that ignoring festivals, social harmony and the country's economy in the name of politics is not a good sign for political parties.

The RSS affiliate pointed out that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, held between September 2022 and January 2023, had a nine-day break from December 25 to January 2 for Christmas and New Year celebrations.

However, despite repeated appeals by traders' organisations in Delhi and members of Hindu society to cancel or postpone the November 1 rally, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears, VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said in a post on X.

"The country knows that Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, which began on September 7, 2022, and concluded on January 29, 2023, had a nine-day break from December 25 to January 2 during Christmas and New Year. This was perhaps because these occasions were very important to him, his Christian mother and his party.

"However, now, when traders' organisations in Delhi and members of Hindu society, distressed over the possible disruption of Diwali celebrations and the huge losses it could cause to businesses associated with the festival, have repeatedly appealed for the rally scheduled for November 1 to be cancelled or postponed, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears," he said.

The remarks came ahead of the INDIA bloc's planned "public impeachment" of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. The programme, earlier scheduled for Friday, was postponed to Saturday due to rain in the national capital.

The INDIA bloc has also planned a "mega rally" at Ramlila Maidan over the "vote chori" issue and to demand Kumar's resignation.

Bansal questioned whether political protests are more important than festivals, the country's culture, trade and the economy.

He also asked whether INDIA bloc leaders would pay tribute to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which took place 42 years ago in the same period, and publicly apologise to the affected Hindu and Sikh families before beginning the rally.

Questioning the Opposition's "public impeachment" of the CEC, Bansal asked whether the leader of opposition and other political parties would discharge their democratic responsibilities instead of indulging in "mock politics" through mock impeachments and mock parliaments.

He also questioned whether the rally organisers would ensure that incidents of violence, obscenity, indecency and disorder witnessed during previous rallies are not repeated.

Bansal further asked whether the organisers would take full responsibility for any untoward incident and compensate for damage to public and government property caused by their workers.