In its quest for regaining the lost political ground in the national Capital, the Congress will hold a public rally in Tilak Nagar on Sunday in one of the areas hit by the violence during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely said the event will be held at Tilak Nagar Chowk. He added that it will be the party’s first major political rally at the spot since 1984.
Delhi Congress and BJP leaders confirmed that over the years no Congress event took place near the Chowk since the area is home to several families of the victims of 1984 riots. The leaders said that residents announced boycotts or threatened protests during any event announced by the party there.
Delhi Congress spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said thousands of local residents as well as state unit leaders are expected to participate in the rally. “The Congress is getting support from the Sikhs as the BJP has failed to deliver on multiple fronts as well as the recent ‘sewa’ performed by Rahul Gandhi at the Golden Temple recently. Also, in Lovely we have a popular leader from the community leading the Delhi unit,”said Sharma.
Lovely said, “This will be the second Congress rally to strengthen the party before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. We are getting the support of all sections of people in Delhi including the minority communities.”
The Tilak Nagar assembly constituency has been represented by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since 2013. Earlier, the seat was represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s OP Babbar since 1993 when the assembly elections were held for the first time in the Capital. The Congress won the seat only once in 1998.
“We have held nearly 100 public meetings in different areas of Tilak Nagar, including Tilak Nagar Chowk to inform the people about the rally,” said Sharma.
Delhi BJP leader Rajiv Babbar, who contested as BJP candidate from Tilak Nagar constituency in 2020 assembly polls, said the Congress faced a lot of resistance from people in Tilak Nagar constituency where a large number of 1984 riots victims stay. “It is the right of every political party to hold rallies and interact with the people. But the Congress does not have any chance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls because of the extraordinary work by PM Narendra Modi in the last nine years. People will again give all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi to the BJP,” said Babbar.
Since facing a rout during the 2013 assembly elections, the Congress’s political fortunes in Delhi have nosedived. The party has not won a single seat in 2015 and 2020 assembly polls. It also fared poorly in the municipal elections with a negligible number of councillors in the current civic body.
Atma Singh Lubana, Chairman, Anti-Sikh Riot Society, said: “A large number of families of the victims of anti-Sikh riots stay in Tilak Nagar. If Jagdish Tytler (who has been named as an accused in riots cases) attends the Sunday meeting, the Anti-Sikh Riot Society will strongly protest against it,” said Lubana.
Source: Hindustan Times
