Congress reviews INDIA bloc rally preparations

Congress leaders reviewed preparations for an INDIA bloc rally planned for November 1 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, where the opposition alliance intends to protest alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and press for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. On October 23, Congress general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K C Venugopal met party leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana at the AICC headquarters to discuss mobilisation. Attendees included state party officials and senior leaders from both states, among them Rajendra Pal Gautam, Aradhana Misra-Mona, Sanjay Dutt and Rao Narender Singh. Venugopal said the rally would conclude a Delhi Chalo March reaching the capital on November 1. He said at least one million participants were expected to march. The figure is an expectation stated by Venugopal, not a confirmed attendance count. The Congress says the rally is intended to increase pressure on the government over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls. The party has also called for Kumar’s resignation. The allegations are claims by the Congress; the accounts of the preparations do not independently...