Twenty markets. Twenty traders. Just 20 minutes with Rahul Gandhi. A Delhi traders’ body has come up with a fresh proposal ahead of the Congress-led INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan: convince us that the gathering will bring more customers and business, and we will welcome it.
In a social media post on Monday, Gandhi had told Delhi’s traders that he heard their concerns. “You say you listen to everyone, including small traders. We are 20 traders from 20 markets asking for just 20 minutes,” the association said, seeking a discussion before the rally.
He also said the protest could end in “30 seconds” if Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. CTI said the markets likely to be affected are located within one to five kilometres of Ramlila Maidan. “Rahul ji, aap nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukaan kholte hain, hum aapka sammaan karte hain, par Diwali ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukaan band mat karwaiye” (Rahul, you open a shop of love in a marketplace of hate. We respect you, but don’t let the shop of love close during Diwali), CTI said in its letter.
The Chamber of Trade and Industry says it will withdraw its opposition to the November 1 rally if Rahul Gandhi can convince traders that the gathering will benefit their businesses.
Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) chairman Brijesh Goyal has written to the Congress leader seeking a 20-minute meeting with representatives of 20 major markets located within a five-kilometre radius of the rally venue. In the letter today, CTI said that if Gandhi could explain how the expected gathering of 10 lakh people would boost business and bring more customers, the traders’ body would immediately withdraw its opposition and welcome the rally.
“We want dialogue, not a fight,” the association said in its letter, written in Hindi.
