NCP pushes for extending timings of shops, restaurants in Maharashtra

NCP in its meeting decided to push for the same by making a formal request with the chief minister Uddhav Thackeray

A day after Maharashtra Bandh was held by the ruling coalition — Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — against killings of farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, one of the ruling partners Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday said they want the timings for shops and restaurants to be increased ahead of the upcoming festivals. The party in its meeting decided to push for the same by making a formal request with the chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the party supremo Sharad Pawar at YB Chavan Centre on Tuesday. (PTI)

Nawab Malik, chief spokesperson, NCP, said that the decision would be beneficial for the shopkeepers and restaurant owners in the backdrop of the financial losses they had faced owing to the one-day shutdown. The party has also decided they will fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the central investigation agencies allegedly being misused against them with full strength.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the party supremo Sharad Pawar at YB Chavan Centre on Tuesday. It was attended by NCP Members of Parliament, ministers and senior leaders. Pawar is expected to hold an interaction with media persons on Wednesday.

In Mumbai, shops and restaurants are allowed to open till 10pm. The timings will be different in other cities and districts as the state government has empowered the local bodies to decide the timings of the establishments based on the respective Covid-19 situation.

The bandh was observed in Mumbai and in the state to condemn the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which four cultivators were mowed down by an SUV during a protest that triggered the violence. The farmers have claimed Ashish Mishra, son of Ajay Mishra, Union minister of state for home, was driving the vehicle that killed the farmers.

“The party has decided the timings of shops and restaurants will be increased and more time be given to them as they have faced economic losses during the bandh. We want the timings to be extended more than the regular time considering the upcoming festivals such as Dussehra and Diwali. It will be proposed to the chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray) so that a final decision can be taken,” Malik told reporters.

“It will be beneficial and also provide relief to shopkeepers and restaurant owners,” he added.

The ruling party in the state also decided not to bow down against the BJP led central government and the action by the central investigation purportedly to harass the MVA leaders and their families.

“The BJP is misusing the central agencies such as the income tax (I-T) department and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to create trouble for our political leaders. In today’s meeting, it was decided to firmly face their action and stand with the affected leaders and their families. We have decided to fight it with full strength,” Malik said.

Last week, the I-T department carried out searches at premises of multiple sugar mills and real estate groups, including those linked to the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and his three sisters. Pawar himself told journalists that the I-T department was raiding places linked to him and his three sisters. He also said he doesn’t know the purpose of these raids as he was tax compliant. I-T sources said the premises of a company linked to Pawar’s son Parth was also searched during the operation.