Traders have employed an aggressive stance before their discussion with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday. Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) president T Naziruddin said the demand to open all shops was non-negotiable. "All shops should be allowed to open from today. No restriction besides this will be acceptable," Naziruddin told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
Top leaders of KVVES said shops would be open irrespective of the outcome of the discussion with the Chief Minister.
Naziruddin said there was no point in keeping the shops closed on weekends. He was also critical of the Chief Minister's approach to the protest of traders. On July 13, during a media briefing in New Delhi, the Chief Minister had hinted that force would be used to crush any lockdown violations by traders. It was Naziruddin, as the president of the KVVES president, who gave the call to open shops from July 15.
Naziruddin said traders had not taken the Chief Minister's words seriously. "Still, the language used cannot be approved of," he said and added: "No one needs to threaten traders. We have seen many such threats in our long existence. It should be remembered that governments had fallen in the wake of agitation by traders," Naziruddin said.
The traders' representatives were supposed to meet the Chief Minister in the morning. However, the meeting was pushed to 3 p.m. as the Chief Minister had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the COVID-19 situation at 11 a.m. The Chief Minister also had to attend the CPM state committee meeting.
It was the Chief Minister who had called for the discussion after his seemingly high-handed response to the traders' protest had invited widespread condemnation.
The traders, too, had called off their shop opening revolt on July 14 after the Chief Minister personally called up Naziruddin and assured that the concerns of traders would be discussed in detail. It looked like both sides had agreed to a truce.
Suddenly, on the day of the discussion, the traders' body has gone on the offensive. It sounded as if the traders were daring the government to ignore their demands. Top government sources said it would be difficult for the government to announce more relaxations when the test positivity rate is showing no signs of abating. The states have also been warned that the third COVID-19 wave could sweep across the country by the end of August.
However, the traders' body is expected to present figures to demonstrate their plight. It is said that the trading community in Kerala was suffering a daily loss of Rs 2000 crore. Thousands of small shops, hotels and businesses have already shut down.
