Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting the plight of the traders affected by the Delhi sealing drive.
In his letter, Kejriwal drew attention to the impact of the sealing drive on the traders and sought an appointment with the PM.
“I wish to meet you to apprise you of the seriousness of the situation,” Kejriwal wrote.
“These traders work 24 hours and pay their taxes. These are the people who contribute to the growth of the country,” the letter reads.
Kejriwal said that the problem lies in the law and accused the Centre for not solving the issues on time.
“The reason behind the sealing is that there are some flaws in the law. Rectifying these flaws is the responsibility of the Centre. Since the Centre didn’t rectify the flaws on time, the traders are paying the price,” he wrote.
The Delhi CM urged the Centre to immediately introduce a bill to rectify the issues and save thousands of traders from starvation adding that “the livelihoods of many are dependent on each of the shops” which might create law and order problem if not addressed.
He also demanded that the government immediately stops the sealing drive and reopen all the shops closed during the drive.
The Delhi CM has also threatened to go on a hunger strike if the sealing drive issue is not resolved by the end of March.
Meanwhile, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has announced a day-long ‘Delhi Trade Bandh’ to be held on 13 March to protest against the sealing drive across the national capital.
“The sealing of commercial establishments in Delhi is gaining momentum, as a consequence of which the Delhi traders are highly perturbed. They have called for a day-long trade bandh on March 13 to lodge a strong protest against sealing drive,” CAIT said in a statement on Thursday.
The decision was taken at a meeting of trade leaders of Delhi, convened by the CAIT, which was attended by leaders of more than 250 prominent trade associations of the city.
(With inputs from agencies.)