The Delhi Police has confirmed that permission has been granted for the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan, but said it has received no formal request for the proposed march from Connaught Place (CP) to the protest venue. Senior police officials said on Friday that neither the New Delhi district nor the Central district police had been informed about the planned procession.
The clarification comes after Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi announced a march during an interactive session on Instagram. He said participants would assemble at the Connaught Place-Minto Road junction at noon before proceeding to Ramlila Maidan and urged people to join the programme.
The INDIA bloc's ‘Chalo Dilli’ rally is being organised to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Delhi Police yet to receive formal request for march
Two senior police officers, representing the New Delhi and Central districts, confirmed that no permission had been sought for the proposed march. Deputy Commissioners of Police Rohit Rajbir Singh and Sachin Sharma also said their respective departments had not received any communication from the organisers.
While the police maintained that they had no official information about the procession, they did not clarify whether participants would be stopped from marching to Ramlila Maidan.
“We cannot comment anything in advance on the alleged proposed march that has been announced for November. The entire situation is being monitored, and required measures would be taken as and when required,” one of the officers said.
Police deny withdrawing permission for rally
The latest clarification follows a controversy earlier this week over preparations for the Congress rally. On Tuesday, the Delhi Police rejected claims that it had withdrawn permission or prevented party leaders from making arrangements at Ramlila Maidan.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal had alleged in a social media post that police personnel were stopping preparations despite the organisers having the necessary approval.
Responding to the allegations, a senior police officer reiterated that the permission remained unchanged.
“We have not withdrawn the permission for the Congress rally. The Ramlila Maidan has been booked for the organisers from October 25 to November 3. There is no change in the permission that we granted on October 17,” the officer had said, requesting anonymity.
With the rally scheduled for Saturday, the proposed march from Connaught Place remains a separate issue, as the police maintains that it has not received any formal request for the procession.