Post raid, Kohli holds meeting with businessmen, GST officials

AAP’s Jalandhar Central halqa in-charge and industrialist Nitin Kohli on Monday chaired a meeting with traders and GST officials at Circuit House here to resolve the ongoing faceoff.

Nitin Kohli convened the meeting after the city witnessed multiple protests from the shopkeepers against GST raids in the city. GST officials had earlier raided Sehdev Market, and after a few days, they conducted a raid at a mobile shop in Phagwara Gate market. In response, shopkeepers had shut down their shops. Following that, Kohli had come in support of the shopkeepers and assured them that he would convene a meeting with GST officials as well as shopkeepers.

Kohli said, “We will soon speak to the department and work towards finding a mutually agreeable solution. Our aim is to ensure that the department can continue its work, the government’s image remains positive, and at the same time, traders get relief from any unjust pressure.”

Today’s meeting was very productive, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. “I am confident that we will soon resolve the matter and present a solution that works for everyone. This was the first meeting of its kind to address such issues. Going forward, we will also hold internal meetings involving local halqa incharges to gather broader input”, he said.

He also added, “We plan to meet minister Mohinder Bhagat and take this issue to Chandigarh, where we will work at the state level to finalise a sustainable resolution.” The meeting was attended by Baljit Singh Ahluwalia (president of Electronic Market, Phagwara Gate), Ravinder Dhir (president, Sports Market, Jalandhar), Amit Sehgal (Electrical association president, Phagwara Gate), Narinder Singh Sagoo, (president of Focal Point Industrial Area) and Rajiv Duggal (president of the Model Town Market Association).

Jalandhar