New Delhi, Nov 5: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Thursday wrote to Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, expressing concern over “repeated disruption of commercial activities” caused by protests and demonstrations in Delhi, including the November 1 rally by the INDIA bloc.
In a letter, CAIT National President B C Bhartia on Thursday said road blockades and demonstrations over the past month, particularly during the festive season, had caused considerable losses to Delhi’s trading community.
Thousands of traders, shopkeepers, street vendors, transporters and daily wage earners and their families had been affected, while customers and business visitors coming from different parts of the country also faced inconvenience, it said.
“We are writing to express the deep anguish and resentment of the trading community, not merely in Delhi but across the country, over the repeated disruption of commercial activities caused by political rallies, protests, demonstrations, including your rally in Delhi on November 1, 2026, and the continued support extended by you, the Congress Party and other allied political parties to demonstrations organised by various groups over the past month,” the letter read.
The traders’ body said it respected “every citizen’s constitutional right to freedom of speech, expression and peaceful protest”, but the right to protest cannot become “an unrestricted license to disrupt commercial activities, obstruct public movement or deprive citizens of their right to earn a livelihood”.
The letter also referred to Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to practise any profession and carry on trade or business.
Raising five questions with Gandhi, CAIT asked whether the right to protest was more important than the right to trade and earn a livelihood, and who would compensate traders and small businesses for the losses suffered due to repeated demonstrations.
It also questioned the Congress leader’s appeal to rally participants to shop from local markets while supporting demonstrations that, according to the traders’ body, prevented customers from reaching those markets.
The organisation further sought accountability from the Congress and its political allies for the economic hardship caused to traders and asked whether political parties would support similar disruptions if their own businesses and livelihoods were affected.
CAIT urged Gandhi and other political leaders to ensure that demonstrations were held at designated locations without obstructing commercial areas, public movement and the livelihoods of ordinary citizens.
“Democracy must protect both the voice of the protester and the livelihood of the trader,” Bhartia said in the letter, seeking a response from the Congress leader.
The traders’ body said political parties had the democratic right to oppose the government and organise rallies but should also demonstrate accountability and sensitivity towards ordinary citizens.
