With sealing of unauthorised business establishments in the capital set to resume from Wednesday, traders of Delhi, said they will be out on the streets again against the drive and asked the Centre to bring an ordinance to stop the action.
"We have asked the traders to strongly resist sealing as the business establishments are the only source of earning for us," said Praveen Khandelwal, General Secretary of Confederation of All India Traders. He, however, said the protests will be peaceful.
"Traders will assemble on the streets in thousands to resist the sealing drive. But we will be completely non-violent. Let the people see how non-violent traders will be treated by the police," he said.
Khandelwal said the government should immediately bring an ordinance to stop the sealing drive. "Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy had promised in Parliament to do so," he said and also demanded a rehabilitation plan for the affected traders.
Meanwhile, there were differences among the traders on whether the markets will kept open or remain closed on Wednesday. While Khandelwal said all markets in Delhi will remain open, traders in South Delhi said they will keep the shutters down.
"The markets in South Delhi including Greater Kailash-I and II and Green Park will remain closed. We will immediately break the seals if our shops are sealed by the MCD team," said Arun Gupta, member of GK-I traders' association.
The traders' bandh today against the MCD action witnessed sporadic violence with the protestors venting their ire on city buses and clashing with the police.
Refusing to grant any relief to the nearly 44,000 traders, the Supreme Court, in its stinging order on Monday, had chided the government observing, "The government is not powerless to control the situation.
Nor can anyone be permitted to place a dagger on the neck of the authorities." "No one can be permitted to hold the city and the law-abiding citizens to ransom and then seek relief," the court had further said.
Apart from Rao and Jhingan, MCD Commissioner A K Nigam, Delhi Police chief K K Paul and other senior official of the civic body attended the meeting.
