Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that the jeweller industry and the trader community, already facing the wrath of the BJP's 'inspector raj', have been badly hit by the BJP's latest call for curbs on fuel use and gold purchase.
Interacting with delegations of trader and jeweller associations at the SP office, Akhilesh said the community, despite contributing significantly to state revenue, was being hit by the policies of the BJP government.
“The inspector raj under the BJP regime is destroying the traders. Every day, FIRs are being lodged against an average of 10 to 12 traders across the state by the police and the administration, involving them in fabricated cases. They pay the maximum revenue, yet they are the ones being targeted,” Akhilesh said.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the BJP government and the Prime Minister are disillusioned, and their call to curb gold buying has added to the woes of jewellers across the country.
“People are already not spending much. The BJP and the PM's call to refrain from buying gold has made the situation worse. The fact is that the common man doesn’t have the money to spend. All the money is lying with a handful of people, and in such a situation, how can one expect the economic condition of the populace to improve?” Akhilesh said.
He said the present crisis seems to have been deliberately created by the BJP, probably to mask the mismanaged economics that led to a long spell of rising prices of essential commodities.
“Samajwadi Party stands firmly with the jewellers. Once the Samajwadi Party is voted to form the government, a special board will be constituted to look into the jewellery industry and issues faced by the community,” Akhilesh said.
“The government will set up a university to produce qualified individuals in the field of designing. We will also set up a statue of Sant Narhari Das Maharaj at the Gomti River Front,” he said, adding that people from all walks of life are so fed up with the ill effects of the BJP's faulty policies that the party’s communal agenda will not help the saffron brigade any longer.
