NEW DELHI: Traders’ associations have urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to reconsider the ongoing protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and issues concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that demonstrations and road blockades in the national capital are hurting businesses ahead of Diwali.Representatives of trade bodies said traders stock up on goods and often take loans ahead of the festive season, relying on increased sales to meet annual expenses. They claimed that disruptions were keeping customers away, restricting market access and affecting deliveries, with small traders bearing the brunt.Ajay Gupta, a member of the National Traders Welfare Board, said “I humbly request the Leader of the Opposition, Shri Rahul Gandhi ji, to reconsider the agitation currently underway, as it is not benefiting anyone; instead, it is creating an atmosphere of anarchy,” he said. “We are not opposed to the act of protesting itself … but it should be done in a manner that causes no harm to the common man and creates no obstacles for us traders in running our businesses,” he added.Meanwhile, Ghanshyam Das Goyal of the Dal and Besan Millers Association said traders from areas around Delhi usually visit the capital to purchase stocks for Diwali, but the disruptions had discouraged them from coming. Prakash Purgal of the Bangalore Wholesale Cloth Merchant Association also urged Rahul to pursue dialogue instead of road blockades, warning that closures during the Dussehra-Diwali and wedding season could hurt small businesses. “The Navratri festival is currently underway. Traders from areas surrounding Delhi usually come to the city to purchase stock for the Diwali season; however, due to the commotion you have stirred up, people have stopped visiting Delhi,”Prakash Purgal, representing the Bangalore Wholesale Cloth Merchant Association, also urged Rahul to ensure that protests did not lead to road blockades during the festive season. He said Dussehra, Diwali and the wedding season were crucial for traders, who had begun to see a recovery after a prolonged period of business difficulties.Warning that road blockades could force small traders to shut their shops, Purgal called for disputes to be resolved through dialogue.“Please consider this carefully: whatever issues need to be discussed should be addressed through dialogue, rather than by blocking roads and spoiling the festive spirit of Dussehra and Diwali,” he said.Several trade bodies from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Kerala submitted representations on October 12 and 13, seeking steps to ensure that protests do not obstruct commercial activity during the festive season.The traders’ appeal comes amid an intensifying INDIA bloc campaign against the Election Commission’s functioning under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Opposition has demanded Kumar’s resignation, scrapping of the SIR exercise and restoration of deleted voter names, alleging irregularities in the revision process. It has also called for a return to ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs), restoration of pre-SIR electoral rolls for future elections and an effective appeals mechanism for voters excluded from the rolls. The bloc has pursued protests and legal action as part of its wider “Save Democracy” campaign.
