New Delhi, Apr 30 With a large number of traders bearing the brunt of the sealing drive in a few markets of Delhi, political parties are going all out to make it a key poll plank even though a section of business people feel that it is a "non-issue".
Ahead of the May 12 polls in the national capital, both the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress have promised to "end" the drive attempted by the BJP-drove municipal corporations on the directions of a Supreme Court-appointed committee since December 2017.
Be that as it may, city-based automobile parts seller Manoj Garg, who endured amid the drive, isn't exactly enthused about the poll guarantees.
"Indeed, I confronted issues amid the drive," he says, as he demonstrates a part of the fixed up top of his corner shop in Kashmiri Gate, which was knocked out amid a sealing drive in his neighborhood.
"But, for me, fixing isn't a poll issue, national security is a bigger issue, and I will cast a ballot based on that," he stated, including that many traders in the wholesale automobile market "share his sentiments".
In addition to several rounds of protests, traders' bodies including the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) have been very vocal about the issue, demanding promulgation of an ordinance to stop sealing in the city.
CAIT's Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal concurred that lakhs of dealers have felt the "torment of fixing", however he guaranteed that few of them are happy to put "national security" over "fixing issue" in this election.
"We have been requesting a law to quit fixing, from the Center but in vain so far. From other parties as well, we have little hope, so we are considering other significant issues before casting a ballot, similar to national security," he said.
Former president of Paper Merchants Association, Delhi said the fixing drive "truly crushed the spirit of brokers", and frustration is bound to be there as it is a matter of livelihood.
"In any case, there are different variables at play in the 2019 decisions, along these lines, I don't have the foggiest idea, the amount of a discretionary issue it will stay on the surveying day," he stated, including that the merchant network is a "sizeable vote bank" in Delhi and each gathering "looks to charm it".
Nonetheless, a few merchants of Amar Colony in south Delhi and Karol Bagh in north Delhi are as yet feeling baffled about the issue and affirmed that no gathering has ever attempted to "determine" the issue however just use it for "political additions".
Amar Colony's Old Double Story Marker had confronted real activity amid the fixing drive led by the SDMC on the directions of the checking board of trustees and on March 8 a year ago, upwards of 350 shops were fixed in a solitary day.
"Sealing has taken away our livelihood, but is there any party which is serious about the issue. They all make big promises during elections, but there is no enduring answer for us," said a south Delhi-based trader, who did not wish to be named.
"Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his association with traders at Talkatora stadium, did not specify about fixing," he included.
Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari and the three civic chairmen of the BJP-drove partnerships had additionally met Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, seeking a solution.
The Arvind Kejriwal-drove AAP and the Congress, be that as it may, have been blaming the Centre and the three corporations of the city for the "sealing mess".
Kejriwal, whose party has fielded trader leader Brijesh Goel as its candidate from New Delhi seat, guaranteed that if his party wins the election and verifies full statehood for Delhi, the problem of sealing would be solved immediately.
Congress leader and party's New Delhi applicant Ajay Maken too guaranteed to even think about solving the issue inside 30 days of winning the surveys.
Addressing traders in Karol Bagh on Sunday, Maken had guaranteed to halt the sealing drive within one month of coming to power.
He also alleged that the sealing of shops and commercial establishments reflected the anti-trader and anti-business mindset of the Narendra Modi government.
However, Maken's rival on the New Delhi seat and BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi asserted that the Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2021, arranged by the urban development ministry during his tenure as the minister has several loopholes.
"The Congress government did a shoddy job. The MPD has several issues, as it was approved hurriedly. Maken was the urban development minister. He is to be blamed for the wreckage," Lekhi asserted.
"In MPD, rules for DDA's Local Shopping Center and arrangements for different markets are extraordinary. A few streets were not pronounced business," she included.
Khandelwal opined that as the MPD 2021 would finish in another two years, the following government must counsel brokers before drafting the MPD 2041.
