The march in India is about preserving democracy, not about one person: Congress

Leaders of the anti-BJP India alliance are scheduled to convene in the capital on Sunday for a rally titled “Save Democracy” as the race for the 18th Lok Sabha elections intensifies.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress Presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Akhilesh Yadav of the SP, Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD, and Left leaders will all be attending the rally against the “BJP’s dictatorship,” the Aam Aadmi Party announced on Saturday.

Jairam Ramesh, the general secretary of the AICC, said earlier today that the rally’s goal was to defend “democracy and the Constitution” rather than to target any one person.

The opposition gathering is happening soon after two prominent arrests of Chief Ministers from the INDIA alliance, Hemant Soren in Jharkhand and Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi. Soren had resigned before the ED arrested him, but Kejriwal is still in prison, leading Delhi.

This is not a rally focused on the self. The Loktantra Bachao Rally got its name for this reason. It’s not a rally for just one party. There are up to 28 parties involved. The TMC is among the participants in the rally, along with the other members of the INDIA jan bandhan, according to Ramesh.

Gopal Rai, a minister and AAP state chairperson for Delhi, called the gathering the “last chance to save democracy and the Constitution.”

“A number of well-known figures from different political parties will attend the demonstration. This is our last opportunity to save democracy. While getting ready for the political rally at Ramlila Ground, Rai said, “If the people of the country do not raise their voice today, no one will be able to raise their voice tomorrow.”

Rai, who visited the rally site on Saturday to assess the preparations for the event, once again denounced Kejriwal’s detention in connection with the purported liquor fraud.

Meanwhile, the slogan of the demonstration is “Remove Dictatorship, Save Democracy.”

Ramesh had already said that the Sunday event would be the INDIA bloc’s second LS election bugle call. The first was heard on March 17, the day after the dates for the LS polls were revealed, during a combined protest in Mumbai.

“Tomorrow’s rally will also send out a message of solidarity and unity among the bloc,” Ramesh stated. He went on to say that opposition leaders would also raise common concerns at the rally on Sunday, including rising inflation, the highest unemployment rate in 45 years, economic disparities, polarization, and injustice against farmers.