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Pune traders resume business; FAM, VTA to continue protest against LBT
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Wednesday, 22 May, 2013, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Abhitash Singh, Mumbai
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fiogf49gjkf0d Pune traders called off their thirteen-day-long strike against local body tax (LBT) on May 21, 2013 after chief minister Prithiviraj Chavan assured a delegation of traders' bodies – comprising Popatlal Oswal, president, Federation of Trade Associations of Pune (FTAP); Gajanan Babar, president, Poona Traders' Federation, and Ajit Setiya, president, Poona Merchants' Chamber – that the norms would be relaxed. The meeting lasted three hours.
Prior to their meeting with the chief minister, the delegation met Maharashtra's chief secretary Jayant Kumar Banthia and his secretaries Manukumar Srivastava, Srikant Sinha and Nitin Kareer, but the four-hour-long discussion proved futile. Setiya said, “There were harsh rules in the LBT Act, which we requested the chief minister to change during our meeting with him, and he agreed to it. It is a win of the traders' community.”
When quizzed why the traders called off the bandh while their counterparts in Mumbai are still continuing their protest against LBT, the Poona Merchants' Chamber president said, “We had no option but to resume our businesses, because LBT has already been imposed in Pune, and in Mumbai it will be imposed with effect from October 1, 2013. Many traders in Pune closed their shops for more than 13 days to protest against LBT, making it inconvenient for the common man. Now we are happy with the government's decision about relaxing the LBT norms.”
However, the Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM) and the Vidarbha Taxpayers' Association (VTA) said the stir would continue till the levy is abolished. Mohan Gurnani, president, FAM, said, “We have not yet called off the strike. Some traders who are not concerned with the trade, but have their own interests, met the chief minister. The members of FAM, which represents 750 trade associations, will continue the strike until local body tax is totally withdrawn.”
Tejinder Singh Renu, secretary, VTA, said, “The traders in Nagpur are still continuing the protest. We have not yet called off the bandh. The government is misleading the traders by introducing LBT. By meeting the chief minister, the desired result will now come. The chief minister himself should come forward and take the initiative to start the dialogue. He should be neutral and not have a pro-LBT bias. The government has so many revenue sources, and he should consider those instead of relaxing the LBT norms.
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