New Delhi, Oct 31 — Traders associated with Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Saturday put up posters outside shops in Delhi's Kamla Market against the INDIA bloc's scheduled 'Dilli Chalo' rally at the Ramlila Maidan, raising concerns over financial losses.
The posters carried the slogan 'Rajneeti ke bazar mein mohabbat ki dukaane band mat kijiye' and were meant to appeal to the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to change the venue of the rally, being organised to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities.
Speaking to IANS, CTI President Brijesh Goyal said: "We have launched a poster campaign near Ramlila Maidan to send a message to Rahul Gandhi. We wrote to him and (Congress President Mallikarjun) Kharge ji three times, but they did not agree. Today, we have come to send a message that please do not shut down our 'Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' in the marketplace of politics."
"These are historic shops, around 300 years old. Panic has started spreading here since evening. It is being said that 10 lakh people and a large number of vehicles will arrive tomorrow. The shopkeepers and even those involved with transportation of goods are worried whether the loading and unloading will take place or not," he said.
Goyal added: "We have repeatedly appealed to Rahul Gandhi but he didn't pay heed. If shopkeepers are asked to shut their shops tomorrow due to barricading, then businesses in Delhi will suffer losses amounting to more than Rs 10,000 crore."
Maintaining that the traders have got nothing to do with the rally or any political party, he said: "People have the right to protest in a democracy, we only have objection with the timing and venue of this protest."
Goyal also cited the festival season, saying: "Just four days are remaining for 'Dhanteras' and business at all the Mughal era shops, from Chandni Chowk to Karol Bagh, will be affected, including transportation of goods."
"Therefore, as he (Rahul Gandhi) didn't pay heed to our previous letters, we have come here to again appeal him to not close our 'Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' (shops of love), since he talks about 'mohabbat'," he said.
Earlier on Saturday, the CTI wrote to INDIA bloc leaders, including Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and Shiv Sena-UBT Chief Uddhav Thackeray, urging them to reconsider the decision to hold a rally on November 1 in the national capital.