NEW DELHI, February 6: The Delhi Congress this evening charged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with trying to sabotage Sonia Gandhi's forthcoming rally in Delhi, scheduled for February 13 at the Ramlila Maidan.Enraged Congress leaders claimed that the BJP which controls the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) tried to sabotage the rally. The BJP tried hard not to give land to the party for the rally, said Congress leaders.
The MCD and the BJP leader accused by the Congress, however, denied the charge. Amid high drama at the Delhi Pradesh office of the Congress, Choudhary Prem Singh admitted that there had been some problem with the forthcoming Sonia rally. Despite procuring police clearance they were having trouble in getting MCD's clearance for the Ramlila Maidan.
``This morning we went to the MCD office and they kept dilly-dallying. They first said that we would get the land subject to clearance by the police. When we got police clearance the MCD said the leader of the House (MCD) Shanti Desaiwanted the land for some religious function and therefore it could not be cleared for Sonia Gandhi's rally. Desai belongs to the BJP and the BJP is scared once Sonia Gandhi holds her Delhi rally they will be defeated. So they tried hard to prevent us from getting the Maidan,'' Prem Singh said.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) joint secretaries Major Ved Prakash and Iqbal Singh were present at the briefing, where a number of Congress workers suddenly trooped in late in the evening to announce ``they had managed to get the Ramlila Maidan despite stiff opposition from the BJP.''
``The BJP is scared that after the failure of Atal Behari Vajpayee's rally in Delhi the voters would realise that Sonia Gandhi is the leader and will vote for the Congress. Therefore they tried to sabotage her rally,'' Major Ved Prakash complained.
Shanti Desai, the BJP leader of the MCD House, however, denied trying to put a spoke in Sonia Gandhi rally. ``A religious function is going on at the Ramlila Maidan which is expectedto go on till February 12. I am associated with the function and had therefore even requested for an extension. I did not know that the Congress had also applied. They had done so before I did and rightfully got it,'' Desai told Express Newsline.
MCD Commissioner V.K. Duggal said he was on leave today and therefore was not aware of the day's developments. Meanwhile, an MCD official requesting anonymity said that the Congress request was processed, found valid and the land was given to them for the rally after the local police also gave them a no-objection certificate.
There was, however, disappointment among the Congress party workers at Sonia Gandhi's decision to hold only one rally in Delhi. ``We had great expectations that she would hold at least one rally in trans-Yamuna and one in South Delhi. But how can we now convince the voters after assuring them that she would come and speak to them,'' asked a disappointed Congress worker from East Delhi.
Even some city Congress leaders felt that SoniaGandhi's rally may not have the desired impact. Major Ved Prakash was, however, quick to defend Sonia Gandhi. ``She would be addressing five different rallies that day. She is very busy,'' he said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
