The Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh has expressed concern over the impact of the INDIA Bloc’s rally held at Ramlila Maidan on November 1, saying the political event affected business activities, customers’ movement and the livelihoods of traders and workers in the national Capital, particularly ahead of the festive season.

In a statement titled, ‘What Did We Lose, What Did We Gain?’, the traders’ body said that while the rally may have provided political parties with an opportunity to express their views and demonstrate their strength, it left Delhi’s business community with several economic questions and concerns.

“November 1 may have been an opportunity for political parties to put forward their views and demonstrate their strength, but for Delhi’s business community, the day left behind several economic questions and concerns,” the Mahasangh said.

It pointed out that Delhi’s wholesale markets are not merely centres of local trade but also serve as an important foundation for the purchases, supply chains and livelihoods of millions of small traders across the country.

The organisation said that disruption to market activities, customer movement and the supply of goods just ahead of a major festive occasion like Diwali was a matter of concern.

Listing the losses suffered by the trading community, it said business activities and customer footfall were affected on Sunday.

Small traders arriving from other states also lost valuable time and purchasing opportunities.

It added that the daily earnings of shopkeepers, employees, labourers, transporters and families dependent on them were adversely affected.

The traders’ body further claimed that the normal commercial activities and business image of Delhi’s major markets had suffered a setback, while concerns had increased over the possibility of customers shifting towards online shopping and other commercial centres.

However, the Mahasangh also acknowledged certain positive aspects of the rally, saying it brought the problems and concerns of Delhi’s trading community onto a wider public platform.

It said the event once again highlighted the important role played by Delhi’s wholesale markets in the country’s economy and supply chain. It also underlined the need for better coordination between business interests, public convenience and traffic management while planning major events in the future.

“Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh (Regd.) respects democratic rights and peaceful protests. Every political party has the right to express its views, but equal responsibility towards trade, employment, ordinary citizens and the country’s economic activities is equally necessary,” the statement said.

“Political events last for a limited period, but the economic losses suffered by businesses and the impact on customers’ trust can be felt for a long time,” it added.

The organisation urged authorities and political parties to give priority to Delhi’s business calendar, festive season, market accessibility, supply of goods and public convenience while deciding the dates and venues of large-scale events.

“Politics has its place, and trade and employment have theirs. A balance between the two is the hallmark of a strong, responsible and healthy democratic system,” it said.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mohammad Azam Khan was on Sunday sent to 14 days of judicial custody a day after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a Jauhar University-linked money laundering case.

The order was passed by the Ghaziabad MP-MLA Court, which directed that Khan will remain in judicial custody until November 13.

Speaking to reporters, the SP leaders’ lawyer, Danish Ali, said: “Today, Azam Khan has been remanded to judicial custody. We argued that since this is a 2019 case, the authorities could have taken action through a B-Warrant when he was already in custody. There has also been a violation of Section 19.”

“The ED has sought his custody to further interrogate him,” he added.

The Samajwadi Party leader’s arrest by the ED on Saturday came close to the provisional attachment of land and buildings belonging to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district, valued at Rs 426.46 crore, in connection with the money laundering probe involving the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, Azam Khan, and others.

The fresh trouble for Azam Khan came in the backdrop of a short-lived relief offered to him and his son Abdullah Khan by the Allahabad High Court, which suspended their sentence in the dual PAN card case and also granted them bail on Thursday.

In the money laundering case, the ED attached assets of the University that have a current estimated market value of around Rs 1,170 crore.

The university campus, located at Jauhar Nagar in Rampur’s Singhankhera village, is owned by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which was founded and is controlled by Azam Khan, who also serves as the institution’s honorary Chancellor, said the ED.

The investigation stems from 26 FIRs registered at Azeem Nagar police station in Rampur, alleging that agricultural land belonging to farmers was forcibly acquired for the university.

The ED said enquiries by the district administration also found that nearly 34 acres of enemy property at Singhankhera village had allegedly been occupied for the university despite the cancellation of the land lease. The land has since been recovered by the Custodian of Enemy Property through the district administration.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Nabin on Sunday accused the Congress of wanting to run democracy “according to the law of the Gandhi family”, as he called it out for undertaking a protest rally in the national capital, instead of apologising to the Sikhs for the 1984 riots.

Nabin’s remarks came at the BJP’s ”Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ rally in Haryana’s Rohtak. He was referring to the INDIA bloc’s ‘Dilli Chalo’ rally, currently underway at the national capital’s Ramlila Maidan.

Addressing the gathering, the BJP chief claimed that an atmosphere of chaos and instability is being “deliberately spread” throughout the nation and accused the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of acting at the behest of foreign powers and “serving as a tool for their agendas”.

“He (Gandhi) seeks to challenge our nation’s democracy based on the directives of these foreign entities…Their associates, members of the Communist Party and certain Congress leaders, talk about ‘regime change’. But this government is formed by the mandate of the people; no one can even lay a finger on it,” Nabin asserted.

He said that the Congress ought to have sought “atonement” for the “massacre” of the Sikhs and should have offered an apology.

“Yet, today, they have taken to the streets to protest. I ask, on behalf of the people in this democracy, Rahul Gandhi, when our Sikh brothers were being slaughtered, when a full-scale massacre was unfolding, your father (Rajiv Gandhi) remarked that ‘when a big tree falls, the earth shakes.’ Because of that (statement), the lives of so many of our Sikh brothers were lost. You should have felt remorse for this; you should have apologised, but instead you are carrying out protests,” he remarked.

According to the BJP chief, the Congress is “frustrated” and “blaming” Constitutional institutions since the party did not receive the people’s mandate to govern.

“If Congress leaders had the courage, they would first end Rahul Gandhi’s dynastic rule within the party and establish democracy in the Congress; instead the party leaders believe that even the country’s law should be made according to Rahul Gandhi and his family,” he alleged.

Referring to the Allahabad High Court’s 1975 decision to set aside then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s election for misusing government machinery and barring her from contesting elections for six years, Nabin said: “This is the Congress’ legacy of stealing votes and disrespecting the people’s mandate.”

He also addressed the Opposition’s claims that 13 crore votes have been deleted, saying: “Any worker from our party, the NDA, or even one of our local unit Presidents can provide a detailed account for every single one of those 13 crore deleted votes.”

Accusing the Opposition of fighting to “protect” infiltrators, Nabin said: “I declare that as long as the workers of the BJP and the NDA are here, they will ensure these infiltrators are driven out of the country. Under no circumstances will these infiltrators be granted any rights.”

“It has become clear that you wish to run the democracy according to the ‘law’ of the Gandhi family. But a democracy must be governed by the nation’s Constitution, which is worshipped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi has always upheld the democracy of this nation,” the BJP chief stated.