'Double Standards': CPI-M's Hannan Mollah hits back at BJP over Ramlila Maidan rally disruption claims

New Delhi: CPI-M leader Hannan Mollah on Friday accused the BJP of double standards over concerns about business disruptions due to the Congress rally scheduled for November 1 at Ramlila Maidan here.

His remarks came after the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Friday urged Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to postpone the proposed rally until after Diwali, citing potential business losses in major markets across Delhi.

Speaking to IANS, Mollah pointed out that a BJP rally scheduled for Saturday would also affect commercial activities but would not attract similar criticism.

"Tomorrow, the BJP President is holding a rally, which will cause thousands of shops to close. But there won't be any loss cited for that! When the BJP does it, there's no loss, but when the opposition does it, there is a loss," he said.

The CTI has expressed concerns that the Congress rally could disrupt business activities in 30 major markets across Delhi, potentially affecting trade worth Rs 10,000-12,000 crore.

Mollah dismissed the concerns, alleging that they were being raised to undermine the opposition's programme.

"These are all excuses because the government is nervous. First, they gave permission; now they can't stop it, so they are using thousands of excuses to try and block it. But all of this is false and misleading. Markets don't shut down and stop functioning over a one-day rally; markets keep running. These are just excuses to defame the opposition's rally," he said.

On the INDIA bloc's proposed 'People's Impeachment' programme against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Mollah said the initiative was intended to highlight the allegations against the CEC and generate public awareness, clarifying that it would be a mock parliamentary session rather than a formal impeachment proceeding.

"This decision was made in the INDIA bloc that he will be impeached. Officially, impeachment happens in Parliament, but this will be a mock session. That means it carries propaganda and awareness value," he said.

He added that the programme would involve presenting allegations against the CEC, followed by a discussion and the passage of a mock impeachment motion.

"It has campaign value to highlight the issues, his offences, and show that Members of Parliament have given their opinion to impeach him," Mollah said.

Meanwhile, the opposition bloc was forced to postpone the mock impeachment programme, originally scheduled for Friday afternoon, until Saturday due to rain in the national capital.

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