Traders disappointed with Congress manifesto, say party did not prioritise issues
Confederation of All India Traders said that traders will support a party which recognise Traders National Charter which is being drafted by them
In Short
- CAIT's two-day national conference is taking place in Pondicherry on Wednesday
- About 200 prominent traders from the country have gathered at the conference
- The confederation is drafting a Traders National Charter
Traders at Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) National Conference expressed displeasure over Congress Manifesto. More than 200 prominent traders gathered at the conference in Puducherry unanimously decided that they will support a political party that will recognise Traders National Charter. The confederation is drafting the charter.
The CAIT said that traders form one of the largest vote banks in the country, as there are 7 crore traders in India and livelihood of more than 30 crore people, is dependent on trade activities. The confederation also said that there are around 40 thousand trade bodies in the country.
BC Bhartia, CAIT national president said that Congress manifesto does not prioritise issues faced by traders. He also expressed displeasure over summing up of such issues in just two lines. Congress has promised abolition of E-way bill and single rate of GST.
The manifesto also says that no government permission will be required for first three years of setting up of a business. CAIT office-bearers said that this can't be implemented and it seem illogical as traders have to comply with various acts and rules made by the parliament. They said that traders have to obtain permissions in accordance with various acts such as GST Act, Food Safety and Standards Act, etc. and as long as these acts are not amended, mere promises will not do.
BC Bhartia and Praveen Khandelwal of the CAIT said that the Congress overlooked by the Congress. They said that issues like FDI in retail, E-commerce, National Trade Policy for Retail, infrastructural among others should have been addressed by the Congress.
As they spoke about deliberations by the traders in the conference, Bhartia and Khandelwal traders have been neglected by the politicians in the country and hence attendees of the conference have resolved to vote for the party which solved issues faced by the traders. They said that CAIT will soon issue a mandate after due analysis.