Terming the announcement of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to sit on hunger strike from March 31 a political declaration and just an eyewash, the Confederation of All India Trade (CAIT) on Friday asked him to clear his stand as no communication has been made till now.

On March 8, Kejriwal threatened that he would go on hunger strike if the issue of the ongoing sealing drive against commercial establishments in the national Capital by the municipal corporations is not resolved by the end of this month. “As per his declaration now the preparations must have begun but so far the atmosphere and declaration is like in cold storage,” a statement from CAIT said.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that Kejriwal must have taken this decision after due thought as traders are anxiously waiting for his participation in the hunger strike. He further said that his strike will not only strengthen the demand of traders but even will pressurise the Central Government.                                    

Khandelwal further said that the CM should pass a Bill to stop sealing and then sit on hunger strike to pressurise the Central Government to approve the Bill. On the other hand he should engage senior counsel to represent Government in the Supreme Court and take orders of notifying 351 roads.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office stated that the Supreme Court is going to hear this matter from April 2 on day-to-day basis. “The Government has appointed two good senior advocates in this matter,” it said.

“Even, the Chief Minister was approached by some of the trade associations and also advised by some lawyers not to sit on hunger strike as it could annoy the court. They also urged the CM to postpone his decision,” the statement said.

The CM has decided to closely monitor the situation and has thus postponed his decision for the moment, it stated. Traders in the national Capital have been hitting hard after building department of the municipal corporations had started sealing business establishments for non-payment of conversion charges, encroachment and illegal construction on the instructions of the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee.

Thousands of shops have been sealed since last December and there is still no sigh of relief amid all the alleged efforts put up by all concerned.