In a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had earlier claimed that 10 lakh people were expected to attend the INDIA bloc's rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday claimed that 40% of the venue was vacant.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said other top Congress leaders, including KC Venugopal and Pawan Khera had also claimed that 10 lakh people would participate in the rally against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and alleged irregularities in the voter roll revision, but only a handful turned up. Track live updates on Opposition's anti-SIR stir
Patra made the remarks at a press conference in Delhi, where he shared visuals from the rally to back his claim that nearly half of the venue was empty.
“You can see in the background that 40 per cent of Ramlila Maidan, 40 per cent of the space, was vacant. Rahul Gandhi and his team claimed that 10 lakh people would attend. Out of 28,000 chairs, around 5,000–7,000 were empty between 3:30 pm and 4 pm. This is the reality behind Congress's claim of 10 lakh attendees,” Patra said on Sunday, following the INDIA bloc's rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.
{{/usCountry}}“You can see in the background that 40 per cent of Ramlila Maidan, 40 per cent of the space, was vacant. Rahul Gandhi and his team claimed that 10 lakh people would attend. Out of 28,000 chairs, around 5,000–7,000 were empty between 3:30 pm and 4 pm. This is the reality behind Congress's claim of 10 lakh attendees,” Patra said on Sunday, following the INDIA bloc's rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Opposition leaders hailed the rally as a success. Senior advocate and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi described it as “very successful”.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi says Gyanesh Kumar will go to jail, warns BJP of ‘legal action over vote chori’
“This was a very successful rally. The BJP is frustrated by seeing the large numbers. CEC Gyanesh Kumar will have to resign,” Singhvi said.
Following the rally, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said Kumar should resign as people had lost faith in him.
“It looks like the voice of the people has been aroused, and it is time for Gyanesh Kumar to hear the voice of the people. If he has got an ounce of moral conscience, he should see that people have lost faith in him and he should quit," Tharoor was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Oppn raises ‘vote chori’ pitch at Ramlila Maidan
INDIA bloc on Sunday held a mega rally against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged discrepancies in the voter rolls revision. The rally was attended by top Opposition leaders like Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress' Mamata Banerjee, former J&K chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
At the rally, held over election rigging charge, Rahul Gandhi said that CEC Gyanesh Kumar would go to jail, adding that his removal from the poll body post would be the first step towards restoring the country’s democratic institutions.
Accusing Kumar of attempting to silence the voice of the nation, Gandhi said he had committed the “biggest crime”, and asserted that the INDIA bloc would continue its fight to protect the Constitution and democratic rights.