Men and women in huge numbers started reaching the main camp at Ramlila Ground and at several other camps since 3 September. They, with humility, had borne the discomfort in the rain drenched camps despite all possible attempts by the reception committee and volunteers to provide minimum requirements of stay. With patience they stood in the rains to line up for the procession to begin from Ramlila Ground. March from Ramlila Ground started with the national leaders of all three organisations in the front followed by the contingent of red shirt volunteers of all three organisations. The rally increased in numbers as contingents of NCR Delhi, neighbouring states and from Sahibabad camp marched in procession from eight other locations to join the main contingent.
As the March reached the police barricade at the Parliament Street, the procession converted into rally and mass meeting from 10 A.M. The rally gathering stretched from Parliament Street police station to inner circle of Connaught Place, spilling over to Jantar Mantar road and other connecting roads and lanes. Because of the procession and the rally, New Delhi’s road transportation went out of gear for hours together and the arterial roads approaching the Parliament came to grinding halt.
The mass meeting was presided by the presidium consisting of the presidents of three organisations. Chairman of the reception committee Prof. Prabhat Patnaik and 10 national leaders from each of the three organisations were on the dais. The meeting was addressed by the presidents - K. Hemalata of CITU, Ashok Dhawale of AIKS and Thirunavakkarasu of AIAWU; general secretaries – Tapan Sen of CITU, Hannan Mollah of AIKS and A. Vijaya Raghavan of AIAWU; leaders of CITU affiliated and associated 17 federations; 12 other leaders of AIKS and 4 leaders of AIAWU; and the leader of School Teachers Federation of India. The concluding speech was delivered by Amra Ram of AIKS, Brijlal Bharati of AIAWU and Tapan Sen of CITU.
Despite inclement weather, the participants in the rally were not just mute spectators, raising slogans and enthusiastically responding to the speeches of the leaders highlighting their demands, other issues and exposing the anti-people and divisive policies of the government. The corporate media, this time, in their reports, noted with respect the response in the individual interviews of the ordinary workers, peasants and agricultural workers telling about their struggle emphasising on the demands and issues linking with their lives experience.
The rally resolved of taking solidarity actions by the three organisations to other’s incoming movement including 100 kms 3 days Long March to New Delhi jointly by hundreds of Kisan organisations; proposed 2 days workers general strike unitedly by the central trade unions and federations and DYFI’s youth rally in Delhi.
