ON 17 September, street vendors held a demonstration in Rae Bareli (UP) under the banner of ‘Shahri Gareeb Morcha’ (Urban Poor Front), protesting their eviction from the town. They raised slogans saying ‘Street Vending is not encroachment; it is our livelihood’.
Comrade Vijay Vidrohi, President of the Shahri Gareeb Morcha, pointed out that the PM Modi claims to have been a tea vendor and claims there is no unemployment because people are selling pakodas. Yet the poor who eke out a livelihood through street vending and somehow survive in these times of recession are evicted in Modi and Yogi rule.
Many other street vendors spoke at the public meeting which was conducted by CPIML leader Afroz Alam.