Mumbai: The city’s political atmosphere is all set to heat up with back-to-back rallies on Republic Day. Countering the Opposition’s ‘save constitution rally’, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be organising a ‘tiranga ekta rally’ in all districts, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis holding a public meeting in Mumbai.
“At a time when certain powers are trying to create a divide in society, the BJP rally will give a call for harmony,” BJP’s Maharashtra chief and Lok Sabha MP Raosaheb Danve said.
There will be rallies at around 300 places. “We aim to reach tribal hamlets where rarely a flag hoisting ceremony has been held. We will also be hoisting the national flag at 12 locations in Mumbai, which were rocked by the bomb blasts in 1992,” said Mr. Danve.
In Mumbai, the rally starts at Chaityabhoomi in Dadar, which will end with a public meeting at Kamgar ground in Elphinstone Road.
The ‘save constitution rally’ will be joined by NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress leaders, Gujarat MLAs Jignesh Mewani, Alpesh Thakor, and Patidar leader Hardik Patel, JDU leader Sharad Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, and farmer leader and Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetty.
“The BJP belongs to the RSS parivar, which neither considered the Tricolour as their own, nor worked for the country’s independence. Scared of the Opposition rally, they were forced to organise their own rally. We stand to save the constitution, in the wake of constant violations of its values by this government,” said Jitendra Awhad, NCP MLA, and one of the organisers of the rally.
The Congress too has announced to organise a similar rally in all districts. “We have already announced our participation in the Mumbai rally and will be conducting similar programme in all districts. Our party stands with the constitutional values and we are committed to not allowing the government to violate them,” said Ashok Chavan, state chief of the party.
