Delhi traders repeat their request to postpone Ramlila maidan rally after the opposition rejects it

PABITRA BANERJEE : A day after the Leader of Opposition rejected traders’ demand to postpone the INDIA bloc’s proposed protest rally in the Capital on November 1 to after Diwali, the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has again written to him reiterating its demand.CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal has written a detailed letter to Rahul Gandhi, requesting that the mega-rally, planned for November 1 at Ramlila Maidan with an expected turnout of 10 lakh people, be rescheduled to a date after Diwali.The fresh appeal follows an X post on Monday by Gandhi, where he said that the protest can be stopped in “30 seconds” only if PM Modi “sacked” Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. “To every trader in Delhi: We love you and hear you. The government shut the metro, sealed our roads and locked down our capital. With a stolen vote nothing is safe – your shop, your savings, your children’s future,” the Leader of the Opposition wrote in Hindi on X. He further urged the business community to tell PM Modi to remove “accused no. 4” Gyanesh Kumar so the demonstrations would end immediately. However, trade leaders emphasized that hosting a congregation of this magnitude in central Delhi during the height of festive shopping poses catastrophic financial risks. CTI’s logistics estimates indicate that a turnout of 10 lakh participants will bring up to 20,000 vehicles into Old and Central Delhi, triggering gridlock across 21 key wholesale and retail hubs including Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, Khari Baoli, Bhagirath Palace, and Karol Bagh. Highlighting that Delhi markets generate approximately ₹25,000 crore in turnover during the festive week spanning Dhanteras, Diwali, and Bhai Dooj, the trade body warned that traffic diversions, metro station closures, and heavy barricading put ₹10,000 crore in peak seasonal business at immediate risk. Having already suffered an estimated ₹3,000 crore in losses due to frequent central Delhi demonstrations throughout October, CTI urged the opposition alliance to either postpone the rally until after November 10 or shift the venue to Burari ground on the city outskirts to safeguard small merchants’ livelihoods.