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Cong protests against lease of Red Fort

The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee under the leadership of its president Ajay Maken held a demonstration in front of the…

Cong protests against lease of Red Fort

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken with other party activists during their protest in the Capital on Friday against the Narendra Modi government's alleged move to hand over the iconic Red Fort to a private company for maintenance. (Photo: SNS)

The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee under the leadership of its president Ajay Maken held a demonstration in front of the Red Fort to protest against Modi government’s alleged “conspiracy to sell/mortgage/lease the historic heritage monument Red Fort to a private party for maintenance”.

Ajay Maken claimed, “all the assembled Congress workers put Rs 5 each as a symbolic protest in a box kept at the venue. The amount collected will be sent to Narendra Modi for the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund with a message that, if need be, the Congress workers of Delhi will contribute Rs 5 crore every year for the maintenance of the Red Fort. But the party will not allow the Red Fort to be sold to anybody.”

The demonstration was organised by the Chandni Chowk District Congress Committee under the leadership of Mohd Usman.

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On the suggestion by Ajay Maken, former Delhi minister Haroon Yusuf made the first contribution of Rs 5. He was followed by Maken and others present for the protest.

Addressing demonstrators, Ajay Maken exhorted the Congress workers “to keep the fight on to protect the historic Red Fort from being sold to Dalmia group”.

The Congress leader said, “it was indeed very shameful that the Modi government, which could spend Rs 3,000 crore for self-publicity, cannot find Rs 5 crore for the maintenance of a heritage monument like the Red Fort, which is part of the great cultural history of the country.”

Prominent among those who participated in the demonstration besides Haroon Yusuf were DPCC chief spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee (who is also the president of the Delhi Pradesh Mahila Congress), ex-MLAs Prahlad Singh Sahni and Kanwar Karan Singh and municipal councillors Aalley Mohammed and Prerna Singh.

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