‘Maharally’ at Ramlila | Opposition prepares for a big showdown on March 31

This will be the first public meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders since the coalition was founded on June 23 last year.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will be attending the ‘Maharally’ to be held by AAP at the Ramleela ground on March 31. | Photo Credit: ANI

Opposition is preparing for a big showdown on March 31, at Ramlila ground, where the INDIA bloc is scheduled to hold a rally to protest against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. Along with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi, top leaders of 11 other Opposition parties have confirmed their presence at the event. 

This will be the first public meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders since the coalition was founded on June 23 last year in Patna. The alliance in September last year had announced a public rally in Bhopal coinciding with the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, but that never materialised. The more recent efforts – one in Patna after RJD’s Jan Vishwas Rally last month and the March 17 rally in Mumbai at the close of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, saw only scant presence from the Opposition ranks.  

Trinamool Congress, which refused to cede any seat to the Congress, will also be seen at the event. Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien will be representing his party. Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray, and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav have confirmed their presence. The Left will also be present in full force. General Secretaries of four left parties – CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) and Forward Bloc, will be participating. The DMK will be represented by the party’s Rajya Sabha leader Tiruchi Siva. 

The Opposition parties had failed to take a similar step when former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was arrested. 

AAP has received permission of the authorities concerned for holding the rally, being held in the backdrop of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, at the Ramleela ground on Sunday for an attendance of more than 20,000 people, he said.

The call on whether Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal will address the 'Maharally' will be taken later, he said.

(With inputs from PTI)