Arvind Kejriwal invites Manoj Tiwari, Ajay Maken for meeting to end sealing menace

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Manoj Tiwari and Congress unit chief Ajay Maken over the issue of sealing in the national capital. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader has extended invitation to both Tiwari and Maken for an all-party meeting convened by him at his residence on Tuesday.

In his letter, Kejriwal has said that “there is a need for us to rise above party lines to find a solution to the sealing issue”. Calling the sealing issue grave, Kejriwal has written that it is very essential to take a joint stand on the issue for the welfare of people living in Delhi.

#Delhi #Sealing issue: CM #ArvindKejriwal writes to BJP's Manoj Tiwari & Congress' Ajay Maken, invites them for a meeting on 13 March over the matter. pic.twitter.com/0gX0fop8p8 — ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2018

Kejriwal has written to Maken that since the Congress leader has been a minister for Urban Development, he is sure of getting good and practical suggestions on the issue from him.

“I assure you from my side that my party and government will do whatever is needed to put an end to sealing and to reopen shops that have already been sealed,” wrote the Delhi Chief Minister.

The AAP leader has requested that only three members from each party join the meeting so that it ends in a fruitful manner.

On Saturday, Kejriwal had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi warning that crime in the capital may increase if the sealing drive is not stopped.

"The traders are on the verge of starvation and each shop is means of livelihood for many people. If all of them are rendered unemployed (due to sealing) then it may have a huge impact law and order situation," he wrote in his letter to the PM.

Backing the shopkeepers who have been impacted by the sealing drive, he said these people are not corrupt. "Shops are being sealed in Delhi these days of shopkeepers who work for 24 hours a day and pay taxes to the government. These are not corrupt people. These are people who contribute to the development of the country," he said.

He lashed out at the Centre for not doing justice to the shopkeepers, claiming that they are facing the brunt of the Centre's faults. "The reason behind sealing is anomalies in the law. It is the responsibility of the Central government to remove these anomalies. However, the government has not done anything and the shopkeepers are paying the price for it," the Chief Minister wrote in a strongly-worded letter to the PM.

He appealed to the PM asking for a law to be made against the sealing drive so that the shopkeepers do not face any more harm. "There is only one solution now. A bill has to be brought in Parliament to remove anomalies in the law and save traders from unemployment," he said.