Sealing of shops serious blow on families: Govindacharya

New Delhi, Apr 22 (UNI) Sealing of business units in Delhi amounts to a "serious blow to families" as 97 per cent of business units in India are run by family owned former BJP ideologue Govindacharya has said.

Addressing traders on the fifth and final day of their protest dharna at Jantar Mantar yesterday, Dr Govindacharya said,''the business pattern in India is based on family institution principle and as such 97 per cent of Indian business units are controlled and run by family people.

Sealing of business premises in Delhi, therefore, amounts to a sort of serious blow on the families'.'' ''Earning one's livelihood with honesty is the fundamental right of each citizen and trader and no law or no government can deprive them with such a right,''Dr Govindacharya said.

Mr Govindacharya said Delhi and other cities were not developed because of government efforts but it is the trading community which put all its might in developing the city.

''Sealing business establishments is a greatest crime towards the family members of traders and their employees,'' he said and assured the traders that in their crusade against sealing of shops he was always with them.

BJP Delhi President Harshvardhan, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Jagdish Mukhi and in the MCD Subhash Arya and MLA Dayanand Chandela also participated in the traders Dharna.

Meanwhile, Mr Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders, which is leading the traders agitation, said that during last 20 days of the sealing drive in Delhi, business worth around 2500 crores had been lost whereas the State Government had suffered a revenue loss of more than 25 crores.

Meanwhile, the Delhi traders have announced that they would start a relay hunger strike' from tomorrow in different parts of Delhi.

At the same time, a citywidesignature campaign' will be launched wherein signatures of lakhs of traders and citizens would be obtained and submitted to President A P J Abdul Kalam.

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