Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 2: Government and jewellers remained adamant on their decisions as the indefinite strike by the latter entered 32nd day, thereby causing hardships to the people.
The jewellers are on strike across India from March 2 against the anti-bullion traders’ decision of imposing one per cent excise duty on non-silver items.
Large number of jewellers, swarnkars, karigars and artisans assembled at Jain Bazaar and held protest. They took out a protest rally, which started from Jain Bazaar and after passing through various areas culminated at starting point.
During the rally, Parjan Kumar Jain, President Sarafa Association Jammu, Kulbhushan Anand, President Swarnkar Sangh Jammu District, Vijay Verma, General Secretary Sarafa Association Jammu, Ajay Vaid, General Secretary Swarnkar Sangh Jammu District, Surinder Jain, Treasurer Sarafa Association Jammu, Ajay Talla, Rakesh Mahajan, Sanjay Jain and CL Khajuria executive members of Sarafa association addressed the gathering.
“We are protesting on the roads for a month now but the Government is still mum towards our issue. The time has come to change the strategy of our protest. If the Government is not paying any heed to our peaceful protest, then we will change our track and start hunger strikes, block roads and stop trains until and unless Government rolls back the excise duty”, they added.
Raj Kumar Babbar, All India Vice President Swarnkar Sangh and President Swarnkar Sangh, Jammu Province urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene into the matter and redress it on priority basis.
Meanwhile, Raman Suri, Chairman, Sarafa Association and Swarnkar Sangh Joint Action Committee, Jammu Province attended series of meetings of jewellers in various districts of Punjab.
While talking to the EXCELSIOR over phone, Suri said, “Today I have attended many meetings with various associations in Punjab. We talked about the Inspector Raj from 1968 to 1990 and the hardships which the swarnkars and their ancestors had to face due to the excise duty. Many swarnkars were forced to shut down their business and hundreds of them had to commit suicide as well. It was only after their sacrifice that the excise duty was rolled back at that time”.
He added that the incidents are still fresh in their minds and it will be a great injustice to their brothers, who sacrificed their lives for anti-jewellers decision.
“It was decided by all Associations that they will continue their fight against the excise duty decision, till the same is not rolled back. We will go to any extent but won’t let this decision to destroy our lives”, Suri stated.
He informed that all the Jewellers Associations in Punjab are preparing to boycott BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections, if the Excise Duty is not rolled back.
Follow our WhatsApp channel