INDIA bloc rally preparations gather pace at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan 3 500 cops to be deployed

     New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) Workers putting up a large 'Tricolour' tent, towering stacks of plastic chairs awaiting arrangement and metal barricades lining up to stand guard -- Thursday morning at Ramlila Maidan saw preparations intensify for the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over "vote chori".

     Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, organisation general secretary K C Venugopal and MP Pawan Khera inspected preparations at the sprawling ground on Thursday evening.

     Visuals showed a large tent being erected over the main stage for opposition leaders, while another stage is being arranged for state units of INDIA bloc parties.

     Rows of white canopy tents have been put up nearby, and metal barricades are being installed to regulate the movement of people. Mini-trucks continued to bring in plastic chairs and other material as workers assembled temporary platforms and other structures.

     The demonstration is scheduled from 10 am to 5 pm on November 1, with the Congress claiming around 10 lakh people are expected to participate in the rally -- part of the opposition's campaign against alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

     Delhi Police, however, said a gathering of around 50,000 people is expected and around 3,500 personnel would be deployed for security and crowd management.

     The Congress is looking to mobilise workers across states for the November 1 rally, with leaders meeting state units to coordinate attendance.

     Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has appealed to people, including students and civil society groups, to join the gathering, describing it as a movement to defend democracy and the Constitution. Party leaders from states neighbouring Delhi have been asked to mobilise workers in large numbers.

     More than 200 CCTV cameras, body-worn cameras, and surveillance-equipped vehicles will be used to monitor the venue, police said.

     Police have divided the venue into 14 zones for crowd management and called in 10 companies of reserve forces. Each zone will be overseen by an assistant commissioner-rank officer, while two zones will be monitored by officers of additional deputy commissioner rank.

     The Indian Youth Congress said participants would wear white cloth to resemble ghosts, symbolising voters who have allegedly been marked dead or removed from the electoral rolls. Some participants would also wear Batman masks, they said.

     Delhi Congress said the organisation has been making extensive efforts to mobilise people across the capital, along with participants from outside, for the rally.

     An official communication dated October 17, addressed to Congress leader Manish Chatrath, granted the party's request to book Ramlila Maidan from October 25 to November 3, subject to permission from the land-owning authority and compliance with specified conditions.

     According to police, organisers have been asked to install high-definition CCTV cameras at strategic points and set up a control room to monitor footage. They must also deploy adequate volunteers, arrange drinking water and separate toilets for women, and coordinate vehicle parking with traffic police.

     Details of invitees, volunteers and buses ferrying participants have also been sought, police said.

     Overnight stay at the venue is not permitted, and organisers have been cautioned against unruly behaviour or speeches that could disturb communal harmony, they added.

     The November 1 rally follows the INDIA bloc's plan to hold a "public impeachment" proceeding against Kumar on October 30. After facing permission hurdles for the programme at other venues, opposition leaders decided to hold it at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Rajaji Marg.

     The Congress and other INDIA bloc parties have accused Election Commission of jeopardising the fairness of electoral processes and alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise.

     They have demanded resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, making it a central issue in their campaign against the BJP-led Union government.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)