Traders to go on strike against VAT

LUCKNOW: Announcing a 96-hour country-wide strike against Value Added Tax (VAT), from March 29, traders’ body Akhil Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal (ABUVM) on Tuesday said traders will resort to self-immolation in the national capital if the controversial tax was forced on them.

All big and small business establishments would remain closed during ‘Bharat bandh’ from March 29 to April 1, the day the Centre has announced to implement VAT, ABUVM convenor Sandeep Bansal said.

If the Centre still went ahead with the implementation of VAT, traders would immolate themselves in Delhi on April 2, he warned.

The Union government and finance minister should understand that traders’ indignation against VAT has reached a crescendo and it would not be possible for them to force it down our throat, he pointed out.

Saying that before March 29, traders would observe a phase-wise agitation all over the country, he said on April 1, rail and road traffic would also be hampered as part of the protest against the draconian regime.