Congress alleges BJP plot behind cancellation of Dalit–minority–tribal rally

Congress leader Udit Raj on Saturday painted a dramatic picture of what he called a “calculated conspiracy” by the ruling BJP after a major rally of the Confederation of Dalit, OBC, Minorities and Adivasi Organisations (DOMA Parisangh) at Delhi’s historic Ramlila Maidan was abruptly cancelled.

Raj, who heads the DOMA, said the gathering — planned for Sunday as a symbolic stand to “protect the Constitution and the vote” — was smothered under political pressure. Yet, he vowed that the spirit of resistance would not be extinguished. The former MP announced that supporters would instead assemble before the statue of B R Ambedkar to take a solemn pledge to defend the Constitution.

Calling the chain of events “extraordinary”, Raj said it was rare for a national party to intervene directly against a social organisation’s rally. He claimed that permission was revoked after a letter from Shashank Shekhar Tripathi, coordinator of the BJP’s Kashi region legal cell, reached the Delhi Police. Tripathi reportedly warned that the event could “divide society,” create disorder, and that even asserting the Constitution was in danger was somehow “unconstitutional”.

Raj rejected these claims as baseless pretexts, noting that the Model Code of Conduct was inexplicably cited despite no elections being scheduled in the ward. He said the cancellation only underscored how “the Bahujan Samaj is not even allowed to raise its voice for its own rights”.

Undeterred, Raj said the movement would continue with renewed determination, promising that a much larger rally would rise in the future — one, he said, that no political pressure could silence.

With PTI inputs