Maharashtra to cancel cases against traders on LBT

Home Minister RR Patil has stated that all the cases filed by the police against traders during the Local Body Tax (LBT) strike will be withdrawn immediately. The delegation of businessmen led by MLA  Mangal Prabhat Lodha, was given this assurance by the home minister on Saturday. The consortium of representatives of Federation of Association of Maharashtra (FAM) was led by vice chairman Milap Kanoongo, Metal & Stainless Steel Merchants Association led by vice chairman Narsinghmal Keriya and representatives of various trade bodies.

Cases were registered in 10 police stations across the city against the businessmen who protested against the implementation of LBT. A copy of the list was submitted by Lodha to Patil with a demand for the cases to be withdrawn. Patil discussed the concerns of the representatives and found in an enquiry that the long drawn movement was more or less peaceful. 

The LBT strike was initiated after Government of Maharashtra proposed to implement LBT instead of the existing octroi. The entire state came to a standstill for indefinite period with the deadlock on this decision, during which the cases were registered against these businessmen. According to Lodha, Patil’s decision to withdraw all the cases has given the traders a reason to cheer during the festive season.