A day after the Leader of Opposition rejected traders’ demand to postpone the INDIA bloc’s proposed protest rally in the Capital on November 1 to after Diwali, the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has again written to him reiterating its demand.

CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal has written a detailed letter to Rahul Gandhi, requesting that the mega-rally, planned for November 1 at Ramlila Maidan with an expected turnout of 10 lakh people, be rescheduled to a date after Diwali.

The CTI, which is the apex body for traders and entrepreneurs in Delhi, has also sent a copy of this letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, urging him to discuss the matter with allied parties.

Reacting to the rejection of its earlier appeal by Rahul Gandhi, Goyal stated that the Congress leader addressed traders via a social media post on Monday, making it clear that he intends to proceed with the rally on November 1, in the middle of the peak Diwali shopping season.

Following this statement, traders in 20 major markets surrounding Ramlila Maidan have expressed deep concern and disappointment.

In an X post on Monday, Gandhi had said that the protest can be stopped in “30 seconds” only if PM Modi “sacked” Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

“To every trader in Delhi: We love you and hear you. The government shut the metro, sealed our roads and locked down our capital. With a stolen vote nothing is safe – your shop, your savings, your children’s future,” the Leader of the Opposition wrote in Hindi on X.