The Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia, AAP state president Aman Arora and Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, will be in Jalandhar on Saturday to attend two events.
In the afternoon, the leaders will participate in a programme at Apeejay College of Fine Arts being organised by the Punjab State Traders’ Commission. The commission will hear grievances of traders and attempt to address their concerns. Invitations have been sent to various trader bodies and around 25 industrialists, with a gathering of nearly 400 participants expected.
Members of the Federation of Industry and Trade (FIT), led by its president Sunil Sharma, are also expected to attend the event and raise the demand for complete exemption for small induction furnace units up to two tonne per hour capacity from the mandatory installation of secondary air pollution control devices and secondary emission fume extraction systems.
They are also seeking withdrawal of the requirement for ₹50,000 bank guarantee and mandatory PSCST technical evaluation for such small units. The members had recently also met Secretary, Department of Science, Technology and Environment, Government of Punjab, KK Yadav, seeking waivers for the small scale industry.
In the evening, all leaders will attend a bhajan event at the Sain Dass School grounds. Elaborate arrangements have been made at the venue which is being considered mainly as the show of AAP general secretary Deepak Bali, who has also been an aspirant for the Jalandhar Central Assembly seat.
Bali said, “There will be 25-30 Hindu saints from across the state, including from Pathankot, Talwara, Ludhiana and Patiala, who will attend the event. All MLAs from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency will also be a part of it. I am expecting a gathering of 8,000-10,000 devotees. Arrangement for the parking of their vehicles and langar have been made in the adjoining grounds of the school and at the grain market."
Meanwhile, all shopkeepers around the area had been asked to keep their shutters down today and tomorrow in view of security arrangements.
