Price rise: BJP leaders in overdrive, special trains & buses bring activists

NEW DELHI: The BJP expects to put up a spectacular show on Wednesday when it holds a rally at Ramlila Maidan and takes out a march to Jantar Mantar to protest against price rise. Party sources said 17 special trains packed with saffron protesters were coming from different states, particularly from the BJP-ruled ones and the party president’s home state of Maharashtra . Over 4,000 buses from the states adjoining Delhi , Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and thousands of cars coming from these regions will take over central Delhi, choking all roads.

The party office-bearers who are engaged in the preparations for the event said that the turnout could cross the three lakh mark with party workers coming to the capital from 28-30 state and UTs. ‘‘ We have deployed buses and volunteers at all the stations to transport and assist the protesters,’’ said Virendra Sachdeva, secretary, Delhi BJP unit and head of the reception committee.

To make the rally memorable , the local unit had on Tuesday organised an orchestra playing shehnai and drums to welcome the participants at the New Delhi railway station. ‘‘ This is a historical rally for our party. Over 200 dharamshalas and temple complexes have been booked. Several BJP MPs have even opened their lawns to accommodate the protesters coming from outside Delhi. Half of Ramlila Maidan is likely to be full by Tuesday midnight. We are putting up at least 100 stalls for drinking water,’’ said a senior Delhi BJP leader.

Party sources said that almost all parking lots in the central part of the city, around Ram Lila Maidan and Jantar Mantar, will be used for parking buses and cars coming from different parts of Delhi and other states.
Areas around Rajghat, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, DDU Marg, Minto Road, Mata Sundari Road and many other stretches will also be taken over by these vehicles, sources said.

Senior party leaders said that though a range of issues will be raised by the BJP brass at the rally, the focus will be on price rise. Sources said that the rally would be addressed by national leaders , including L K Advani, national president Nitin Nadkari and senior leaders such as Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar and all BJP chief ministers and deputy chief ministers.

Party sources said that Delhi Police has allowed 8,000-10 ,000 protesters to march from Ramlila Ground to Jantar Mantar. They said that all the senior BJP leaders will lead the march in a chariot.
‘‘ We have directed all the protesters to maintain peace during the protest and not create disruptions on roads,’’ claimed a senior party leader.