RPI joins protests against sealing of shops, hawkers' eviction

New Delhi, Apr 13 (UNI) Joining the whirlpool of protests against sealing of shops and eviction of hawkers in Delhi as per the directions of the Apex court, the Republican Party of India led by Mr Ramdas Athavale today began a day-long dharna in the Capital to protest the sealing drive and urged the government to come out with an Ordinance to regularise shops in residential areas.

''At a time when, even 58 years after Independence, India is still grappling with problems of poverty, unemployment and lack of adequate means to make both ends meet, the Court, instead of directing the Government to eradicate poverty and unemployment, has passed an order which will divest the common man and small traders of their livelihood.

This is really sad and an unfortunate happening, ''Mr Daulat Ram of the Dr Ambedkar Foundation in the Union Social Justice Ministry said.

The activists of the RPI (A), led by Mr Athavale, will tomorrow, on the occasion of 115th birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President A P J Abdul Kalam, demanding, among other things, promulgation of an Ordinance or a bill to stop what they called a "Black Order".

Among the various demands of the protestors are provision of adequate facilities to hawkers instead of uprooting them, stopping demolition of dwelling units of the commoners, providing unemployment allowance to the several unemployed people in Delhi, filling up the vacant posts in all government/semi-government institutions and making reservations compulsory in private institutes.

Prominent among those participating in the dharna are Mirza Mehtab Beg, M J Babbar, Bishan Swaroop, Sujit Misra, Avadh Naresh Shukla, Rafat Hashmi, Rakhi Arora, Sudha Devi and V K Sharma.

UNI AR PK DS1440