Delhi Congress chief, vendors to go on hunger strike

For the party, the issue is one of great significance as it would provide a nucleus for its attempts to regain its lost position in the capital ahead of the 2017 municipal elections.

Congress, Congress president, Ajay Maken, Rahul Gandhi, hunger strike, congress chief hunger strike, delhi news, indian express

For the party, the issue is one of great significance as it would provide a nucleus for its attempts to regain its lost position in the capital ahead of the 2017 municipal elections.

Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken and street vendors will sit on a hunger strike on Wednesday to protest the non-issuance of licences and demand the immediate implementation of the Street Vendors Act, 2014. Earlier, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had met vendors. Maken followed up by meeting vendors in Old Delhi and promised a “lasting solution”.

For the party, the issue is one of great significance as it would provide a nucleus for its attempts to regain its lost position in the capital ahead of the 2017 municipal elections.

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“There are over 5 lakh street vendors in Delhi who haven’t been given their licence, despite the Act making it mandatory. Moreover, the Act itself was passed under the UPA government and Maken was closely associated with it. This gives him the perfect opportunity to utilise the issue as a building-block for his campaign in Delhi,” said a senior leader.

The party’s focus on street vendors isn’t surprising. In January, prior to the Assembly polls, Maken had raised the issue of street vendors in the city. The former Union Minister had roped in NGOs, such as the National Association of Street Vendors of India, for the same.

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