'Why Nov 1?' BJP questions Rahul over rally date coinciding with 1984 riots anniversary

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi of disrespecting the Sikh community's memory of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots by scheduling an INDIA bloc rally on November 1 - the anniversary of the tragic events. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad expressed outrage over Rahul's insistence on holding the rally on that date, questioning the reasoning behind the BJP's statement.

He argued that the Sikh community is deeply affected by the 1984 massacre and that holding a rally on November 1 would only perpetuate pain and suffering. Prasad alleged that many members of the opposition alliance were also dissatisfied with the rally's timing and had suggested postponing it to avoid offending the Sikh community.

The BJP further claimed that a virtual meeting was held on October 22 to discuss the issue, but several allies were absent, leading to the meeting's postponement. The opposition rally aims to intensify pressure on the government regarding the alleged electoral fraud, known as "vote chori," and to demand the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in light of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.