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Tenants form firm front
THE ERSTWHILE Raja?s tenant may have lost round one in the ongoing legal battle over the former?s property, but the defeat seems to have made them only more defiant. ?We will oppose any eviction exercise tooth and nail,? said an aggressive sounding Laxmi Narain Agarwal of the Lucknow Vyapar Mandal (LVM) as if readying for a showdown with the administration on the issue.
THE ERSTWHILE Raja’s tenant may have lost round one in the ongoing legal battle over the former’s property, but the defeat seems to have made them only more defiant. “We will oppose any eviction exercise tooth and nail,” said an aggressive sounding Laxmi Narain Agarwal of the Lucknow Vyapar Mandal (LVM) as if readying for a showdown with the administration on the issue.
It is another matter that the administration been very understanding with the shopkeepers and is avoiding any confrontation with them in the matter. In fact, according to sources, in a last-ditch effort, some of the tenants affected have already left for New Delhi to file a special leave petition before the Supreme Court. “It all depends now on how these people play their cards,” said an official requesting anonymity adding that it was part of the tenants’ strategy to prefer an SLP as against a review petition before the apex court.
The administration authorities had decided to wait till Tuesday before initiating any eviction exercise in view of the High Court judgment. District Magistrate Ramendra Tripathi, however, was evasive when asked about the administration’s move now that the HC had delivered its verdict. “I have not seen the High Court’s order as yet,” he quipped.
On Tuesday, shopkeepers of Hazratganj, Halwasiya and Janpath Market downed shutters as a mark of protest and to express their solidarity with the tenants of the scion of Mahmudabad. So, even as the ‘Mahayagya’ by the Ganj shopkeepers seeking justice from the Almighty continued in front of the Capoor Hotel for the second day today, the Vyapar Mandal has decided to form a human chain at 4.30 pm on Wednesday. The human chain would extend from Allahabad Bank Crossing till Halwasiya Market.
On the other hand, seizing the opportunity to further their own political agenda on the issue, sundry traders outfits like the Akhil Bhratiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal, led by Sandip Bansal and UP Muslim Vyapari Sangh, also jumped in the fray.
While the former has tried to give political colour to the issue by blaming the State Government for not filing an SLP in the matter, the latter has come out in support of the erstwhile Raja demanding immediate eviction of illegal occupants.
