Delhi traders ask Gandhi to defer November 1 rally

Delhi’s Chamber of Trade and Industry has asked Rahul Gandhi to postpone the INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan until after November 10, warning that it could disrupt festive-season trade worth about ₹10,000 crore. The rally remains scheduled for November 1 in the reports, and no decision to change its date is reported. In a letter dated October 24, CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal asked Gandhi, the Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to consider rescheduling the event. The trade body said the rally could affect wholesale and retail markets near the venue during the run-up to Dhanteras and Diwali. It estimated the possible disruption could last three to four days. The festival dates cited by CTI are Dhanteras on November 6, Diwali on November 8 and Bhai Dooj on November 10. The organisation said Delhi sees business worth around ₹25,000 crore around Dhanteras, with customers beginning to shop about a week before the festivals. Those figures are CTI estimates, not independently verified measures of sales. CTI also said traders had incurred losses of about ₹3,000 crore in October because of rallies, marches and road closures in Connaught Place,...