Nagpur traders to attend Modi meet in Delhi on Friday

NAGPUR: A delegation of

traders

headed by Gopal Agarwal will be leaving for Delhi to attend the traders’ convention to be held in New Delhi on Friday.


“To be organized at

Talkatora

indoor stadium, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be speaking to the traders from across the country,” said national president of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) BC Bhartia.

Talking to TOI, Bhartia said thousands of traders from Delhi and other states are expected to attend the convention being held in the thick of the election season. Bhartia said the move, after recent promises made in the BJP election manifesto, is aimed at winning back the support from trading community.

It is perceived that traders are the backbone of the BJP since the party’s inception. But at the same time policies like allowing direct foreign investment in retail trade, demonetisation and implementation of GST had angered traders in the midst of Modi’s term. But to woo the community back, BJP promised a lot of sops in its 2019 election manifesto. “The party has included core and fundamental issues which include formation of a National Traders Welfare Board, a national policy for retail, pension to traders above the age of 60 years, accidental insurance cover of Rs10 lakh to traders who are registered under GST, Vyapari Credit Card on pattern of Kisan Credit Card to traders etc,” said Bhartia.

CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said the BJP manifesto has included various issues of all sections of traders which also include loans up to Rs50 lakh without any collateral guarantee to MSMEs. “These steps will not only strengthen the domestic trade but will also enable small traders to make large exports to other countries,” he said.