New Delhi:
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has rejected an appeal by Delhi's business community to postpone the Opposition's November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan amid the festival shopping season and instead asked them to talk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, if they wanted a quick solution.
In a post on X, Gandhi said they can stop their protest in "30 seconds" only if PM Modi "sacked" Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Kumar has been the main target of the Opposition's protest over his handling of the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise and other issues, including taking alleged unilateral decisions even after the two election commissioners who work with him "objected on record" several decisions taken by the poll body allegedly without their knowledge.
"To every trader in Delhi: We love you and hear you. The government shut the metro, sealed our roads and locked down our capital. With a stolen vote nothing is safe - your shop, your savings, your children's future," the Congress MP who's also Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha wrote in Hindi on X.
"Tell Modi to sack accused no. 4, Gyanesh Kumar, and the protests will stop in 30 seconds," he said.
To every trader in Delhi: We love you and hear you. The Govt shut the metro, sealed our roads and locked down our capital. With a stolen vote nothing is safe - your shop, your savings, your children's future. Tell Modi to sack accused no. 4, Gyanesh Kumar and the protests will stop in 30 seconds. दिल्ली के हर व्यापारी से: हम आपसे प्यार करते हैं, आपकी बात सुन रहे हैं। मेट्रो सरकार ने बंद की, सड़कें सरकार ने सील की, राजधानी पर ताला सरकार ने लगाया। जब वोट ही चोरी हो जाए, तो कुछ भी सुरक्षित नहीं - न आपकी दुकान, न आपकी बचत, न आपके बच्चों का भविष्य। मोदी जी से कहिए - आरोपी नंबर 4, ज्ञानेश कुमार को हटाएं, 30 सेकंड में आंदोलन रुक जाएगा।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 26, 2026
Gandhi's comments today came days after the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) wrote to him requesting that the Opposition bloc INDIA defer its November 1 protest until after November 10.
In a letter to Gandhi, CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal warned that holding a mass political gathering at Ramlila Maidan right before the festive peak could disrupt commercial activity worth Rs 10,000 crore across the national capital.
Goyal said the rally's venue is next to Old Delhi's busy wholesale and retail hubs, which typically record their heaviest customer footfall in the week leading up to the festival calendar. Dhanteras falls on November 6, followed by Diwali on November 8 and Bhai Dooj on November 10.
Delhi's markets generate roughly Rs 25,000 crore in turnover around Dhanteras alone - spanning high-volume sectors such as gold and silver, electronics and automobiles, among others, Goyal said in his letter requesting to protect peak-season trade by rescheduling the protest.
The November 1 rally is part of a long campaign by the Opposition alliance to demand the resignation of the chief election commissioner.
On October 12, Opposition leaders and activists had marched through heavily barricaded arterial roads to file a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the SIR exercise. The next day, Gandhi hosted leaders of the INDIA bloc for tea at his Delhi home, after which the alliance announced it would continue the campaign against vote chori".