A day after kicking off an indefinite strike over their pending demands and "paralysed" government distribution of free and subsidised ration among millions of beneficiaries in Gujarat, around 17,000 fair price shop (FPS) owners in Gujarat said on Thursday that they have “suspended” their strike. The development came after an assurance by the state government to look into their demands. Around 17,000 FPS owners of Gujarat went on strike on Wednesday, demanding that the government assure each of them of a minimum monthly commission of Rs 20,000 and that up to one per cent of ration loss be allowed to them as distribution loss. Amid the protest, the distribution of free and subsidised ration among 72 lakh families, covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for the month of November, didn’t start. The strike came in the run up to Diwali festivities and also meant that some of bajra (pearl millet) stock procured a few months ago during the Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) could not reach the beneficiaries. This in turn, didn’t allow the state government to start procurement of Kharif Marketing Season (KSM) bajra, which otherwise was scheduled to begin on Wednesday. A government release on Wednesday underlined that in a meeting with FPS owners held in September last year, the state government had agreed to make up for the deficit if the owner of an FPS servicing less than 300 NFSA ration cards earned a commission of less than Rs 20,000 per month. Hence, the government, as per the statement, paid Rs 3.53 crore to 3,400 such shop owners as gap funding for September 2023. Late on Wednesday evening, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Gujarat’s Minister for Water Resources and Water Supply, Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Affairs, called office-bearers of All Gujarat FPS Association and Gujarat FPS and Kerosene Licence Holder Association for a meeting. However, as per Rajendrasinh Jadeja, secretary, All Gujarat FPS Association, Wednesday’s meeting remained inconclusive after they pointed out that the September 2, 2023 government resolution, which promised deficit funding to FPS, was arbitrary as it had introduced the eligibility criteria of less-than-300-NFSA ration cards and the government sought more time to resolve the issue. Bavaliya called another meeting with the office bearers of the two organisations on Thursday evening and at the end of it, the striking owners agreed to suspend their strike. “After a meeting with the fair price shop owners’ associations, they have decided to halt their strike and have assured to distribute ration by keeping their shops open from tomorrow, November 3 onwards. The state government welcomes this,” an official release quoted Bavaliya as saying. Prahlad Modi, president of Gujarat FPS and Kerosene Licence Holder Association Association, told The Indian Express that the FPS owners “trusted” the government and decided to “suspend” their strike. “The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere and the government said that it agreed with our genuine demands. But it said that some ‘work’ is yet to be completed and thus sought some time. We also had received a message from Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, assuring and convincing us that the government was with us. Trusting the government, we have decided to suspend our strike,” he said. Modi, who is also the younger brother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, further said, “We have also suspended our strike in the interest of the poor who otherwise could not have received their ration to celebrate Diwali. We have been assured that we will be called for another meeting a few days after Diwali in connection with our demands.” Jadeja said that the criterion of less than 300 NFSA ration cards was also unfair. “This created a situation where an FPS owner serving 301 ration cards distributes more ration than an owner of an FPS with less than 300 ration cards and yet the former could be earning Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 commission while the latter would get Rs 20,000,” said Jadeja, adding, “Quantity of ration distributed under NFSA depends more on the number of individuals on in a family rather than the number of ration cards.” At present, FPS owners in Gujarat get Rs 1 as commission for every kg of ration they distribute. They get Rs 3 commission per pouch of edible oil, and 75 paise per bag of salt, Hitubha Jadeja, convenor of the media cell of Saurashtra-Kutch FPS Association, said. “After the festival of Diwali, the government will hold another meeting with the associations and will take appropriate decision after positive discussions,” the release further quoted Bavaliya as saying. On Wednesday, the Minister told The Indian Express that the government has already met the genuine demands of FPS owners. “At a meeting we had held with the FPS Owners Association in September last year, the government had agreed to fund the deficit of the owner of an FPS, where less than 300 ration cards have been registered, gets a commission lower than Rs 20,000 per month. "Accordingly, the government paid Rs 3.53 crore to such FPS owners and ensured that they got at least Rs 20,000 commission for the month of September. But now, owners of FPS where more than 300 ration cards are registered are also demanding that they should also be paid the deficit. This is not a fair demand but a result of an internal dispute among FPS owners," he said.