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In a show of opposition unity ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, INDIA bloc leaders came together at a ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally at the Ramlila ground here on Sunday in the backdrop of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest.

 

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren were among the first to reach the Ramlila Maidan.

 

Kejriwal’s wife Sunita also joined the INDIA bloc leaders on stage. She will be reading out a message from her husband, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.

 

Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav are also expected to join.

 

Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai had said on Saturday that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance’s (INDIA) rally was the last chance to save India’s Constitution and democracy.

 

The Congress had asserted that the INDIA bloc’s ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally was aimed at saving the Constitution and democracy and not any particular person.

 

It said a “strong message” will be sent out from the INDIA bloc rally to Lok Kalyan Marg, where the prime minister’s residence is located, that the BJP-led government’s “time is up”.

 

Delhi Police has made elaborate security arrangements for the rally with paramilitary personnel deployed at and around the rally venue.

 

As workers of different political parties started gathering at Ramlila Maidan in the morning, police were busy managing the crowd.

 

The administration has allowed 20,000 people to attend the rally but police expect the number to exceed 30,000.

 

In view of the rally, traffic movement has been regulated on several roads and areas in central Delhi, including Ranjeet Singh flyover from Barakhamba Road to Guru Nanak Chowk, Vivekanand Marg from Minto Road to Kamla Market roundabout, Hamdard Chowk, JLN Marg from Delhi Gate to Guru Nanak Chowk, and Ajmeri Gate from 9 am to 3 pm.