Congress Says Its Protest Targets Election Process, Not Business
Congress has clarified that its planned programme is not aimed at any trader or business community, according to party chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma. Speaking about the November 1 event at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, Sharma said the party's core concern is the right of citizens to vote and the protection of democratic institutions.
The programme, he said, was originally deferred until after Dussehra. It was rescheduled once the party received permission to hold a rally at Ramlila Maidan. Sharma said the entire event will take place inside the ground and that Congress does not intend to hold road protests that could affect commerce.
He questioned why only the Congress programme was being viewed as a threat to traders when the BJP was also conducting yatras and padyatras. In a democracy, he argued, the opposition has every right to raise its demands through available means.
Sharma focused on the Election Commission as well. He cited the impeachment motion submitted in Parliament against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and claimed it was not being allowed to be debated. He said Congress had approached the Supreme Court and the petition remained pending. He further alleged that about 13 crore names had been removed from voter lists, warning that discrepancies could make voting difficult for some citizens. He also mentioned a single complaint involving roughly 13,000 voters.
According to Sharma, a citizen's choice of party is personal, but removing a voter's name from the list is unacceptable. He called on traders and other sections of society to support the Congress campaign and said Rahul Gandhi, Congress and the INDIA bloc were fighting to protect voting rights. He also expressed concern about the freedom of expression of citizens and stressed that democracy and trade are linked.
On alleged AI-generated videos depicting attacks on the Indian Army, Sharma said the government must quickly deny any fake content. He said the government frequently chooses silence over an early response, even though it has adequate systems to establish the truth. He added that ordinary people cannot always tell real videos from AI-generated ones, so official clarity is essential. Sharma also said that circulation of a video does not establish that Congress was behind it.
He raised security concerns about Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, citing public worry over Chinese actions. Referring to the Galwan clash and other border disputes, he urged the government to strengthen border protection and to provide prompt information on any suspicious material related to national security.
On the discontent in the National Conference over cabinet expansion, Sharma accused the BJP of weakening the political system in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the assembly has 90 seats but statehood has still not been restored. The Centre had made a commitment in the Supreme Court and elections had been conducted, yet the promise to restore statehood has not been fulfilled. He alleged that the BJP prefers to control administrative decisions instead of granting the elected government sufficient powers.
Sharma said the government has a majority and Congress is supporting it from outside. He claimed Congress received an offer to join the cabinet because of the pre-poll alliance but chose to stay out to expose the BJP. He said Congress could have become part of the cabinet but put the interests of Jammu and Kashmir's people first. He alleged that the BJP intends to keep the number of ministers limited and create dissatisfaction within the government.
He concluded that both the National Conference and Congress have sought full statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, and that the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Supreme Court have all been associated with commitments on the issue. The people have given their mandate, he said, and the elected government should be given the freedom to function.