Jan Aakrosh Rally: Rahul Gandhi supporters flock Ramlila ground

Over 55,000 people from across states gathered at the Congress party's Jan-Aakrosh Rally held at the Capital's Ramlila Maidan on the blazing Sunday afternoon. The roads leading to the venue were dotted with the buses and trucks holding party flags and sashes. While the ground can only house 50,000 people, there was an additional 1500 Delhi police personnel to manage the crowd.

Groups of men and women who had arrived from distant places marked out their agenda on the placards, posters and banners which they upheld. They walked through the overcrowded streets, raising slogans which demanded a change in the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha Polls.

The Ramlila Maidan was overflowing with protesters as they had outnumbered the capacity. People, who could not enter the venue, hung on to the grills to witness the mega event. Traffic on the circle was stuck for over two hours and all that could be seen were people wearing head scarfs moving in packs. However, the traffic of vehicles entering the area was poorly managed. The crowd flocked the pavements while vendors of food and beverages occupied the roads. With no toilets on the streets leading to the Maidan, people urinated along the walls of the ground.

"I was told to join in by a group of teachers who work at a government school, as they work for the party. I don't have an identity card yet and hence, I am not able to avail any benefits of the government schemes. I have again applied for Aadhar card," said Roshni, who had come from JJ colony in outer Delhi's Bawana.

While the leaders delivered speeches, patriotic songs were played to fill in the gaps between the speeches.

A group of farmers from Mohan Sarai in Banaras, who were participating in the rally, said that they had offered their land in 1992 to the government for the construction of roads, alleging that not a single penny had been compensated till date.

"We are not able to make ends meet. We had visited the BJP office in the area to raise the issue, but they told us to go. That is why we have come here with our plight," said Sarjan Sahai, a farmer.

JOURNALIST ATTACKED DURING RALLY

A journalist of Jammu-Kashmir News 24x7 channel was allegedly beaten up during the rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday. Tabish Kalam, was covering the empty chairs at the venue while the event was still to start. While he was focussing on the chairs, a group of Congress party workers allegedly attacked him. While he tried reasoning with the group, they did not listen to him. The Delhi BJP, too, raised the issue demanding that the Congress apologise for the said act of violence. The ground was nearly empty around 10:30-11 am after which people started coming in.