The Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had assured a delegation of traders that a high-level committee would soon be set up to find out an option for LBT or make suitable amendments in the Local Body Tax Act. However, till today, the Chief Minister’s assurance remained an assurance only. In simple political parlance the “hollow assurance” in order to buy time and then “divided and divide only” the unity of the protesting, striking traders.
Nagpur News:
Gold Rate
21 April 2025
The Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan’s “tricky tactics” and “political game” over Local Body Tax (LBT) have left the traders’ fraternity go volcanic and they have decided to observe a two-day “Trade Bandh” on July 15 and 16. The Chief Minister had assured a delegation of traders that a high-level committee would soon be set up to find out an option for LBT or make suitable amendments in the Local Body Tax Act. However, till today, the Chief Minister’s assurance remained an assurance only. In simple political parlance the “hollow assurance” in order to buy time and then “divided and divide only” the unity of the protesting, striking traders.
Now, on the call by Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM) to observe a two-day “Trade Bandh” on July 15 and 16, the Nag Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce (NVCC) and the Joint Action Committee have supported the “Bandh” call of traders, the NVCC President Deepen Agrawal said.
Agrawal said, “The chargesheet prepared by FAM against the Maharashtra Government over LBT is being distributed to all Ministers, MLAs, so that they could raise the LBT issue on July 15 the starting date of Maharashtra Assembly session and for discussing the crucial issue. The Government must adopt a trader beneficial single tax system,” the NVCC President said.
Agrawal further said, “The traders would not accept two taxes (LBT and VAT). The Chief Minister should immediately form the high-level committee as per his assurance with inclusion of 5 Government officials and 5 representatives of traders. The Bandh call by FAM is for the same demand. The proposed Committee should throw out the LBT and enact a new Act for inclusion of surcharge or cess in the VAT. Similarly, the committee should take care while enacting the new Act that the tax directly goes to Municipal Corporations and Municipal Counclis and not by way indirect. If the tax collected from traders directly goes to State Government coffers the local civic bodies would have to wait and wait for receiving their shares of tax revenue thus hitting the development projects very hard, the NVCC President claimed.
Agrawal accepted the fact that Nagpur MP Vilas Muttemwar played a crucial role in dousing the “traders’ agitation fire” by taking a delegation of 18 MPs to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and apprising them of enormous difficulties face by the traders. The outcome of the meeting was a sort of positive as Sonia Gandhi directed the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to provide relief to traders. The effect was witnessed immediately as 34 amendments were made in the LBT Act and the prices of some commodities also saw a decline. The Government also scrapped the Rule 26 in order to end Inspector Raj. This positive result was the 34-day agitation by traders, Agrawal asserted.
The press conference was attended apart fro Deepen Agrawal by Shrigopal Soni, Mayur Panchmatia, Ajay Kumar Madan, Chunnibhai Shah, Manubhai Soni, Sachin Punyani and others.
The NVCC President informed that only Pune traders have decided not to observe the “Bandh”
