Chandigarh: Praveen Khandelwal—Member of Parliament (Chandni Chowk, New Delhi) and National Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT)—participated as the chief guest in a significant dialogue and discussion meeting organized by the CAIT Chandigarh Chapter. During the meeting, traders, industrialists, and representatives of various social organizations from Chandigarh prominently raised several key issues concerning the city and the business community.
The meeting was presided over by Harish Garg, President of the CAIT Chandigarh Chapter. In his welcome address, he highlighted the various problems faced by Chandigarh's traders and citizens, as well as business challenges and matters related to the city's development. The entire CAIT Chandigarh team—including Advisor Prem Kaushik, General Secretary Bhimsen Agarwal, Vice Presidents Pawan Garg, Rajkumar Singla, and Naresh Garg, Secretaries Neeraj Goyal and Umesh Gupta, along with Kailash Garg, Bajrang Agarwal, Anil Singhal (Social Media In-charge), Ajay Singla (Organization Secretary), Jahan Singh (Legal Advisor), Rajpal Dogra, and Jai Prakash—extended a warm welcome to the chief guest.
At the event, CAIT National Joint Secretary Sumit Agarwal recounted the organization's inspiring journey from its inception to the present day. He noted that, guided by the inspiration of the late former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee, CAIT has consistently fought to protect the rights and interests of traders. He stated that CAIT is now one of the country's most influential trade organizations, operating at the national level as the voice of millions of traders.
Meanwhile, CAIT’s Operations Head, Smt. Smita Ojha, provided detailed information about the upcoming 'Bharat Vyapar Mahotsav' (India Trade Festival) and urged traders to participate enthusiastically. She explained that this festival would offer a powerful platform for traders, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers across the country to showcase their products in national and international markets. She added that by taking indigenous products to domestic and global markets, traders could multiply their business volume and profits. This event will prove to be a significant step towards realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of "Vocal for Local" and "Local to Global."
Representatives from various trade and social organizations participated in the meeting; notable attendees included Avi Bhasin (President, Laghu Udyog Bharati), Arun Goyal (General Secretary, Chamber of Chandigarh Industries), Naresh Bansal (President, Furniture Association), Anil Agarwal (Tent Association), Varinder Gularia (President, Progressive Association), Amit Gautam (Swadeshi Jagran Manch), and Mrs. Meena Garg (Chairperson, WICCI).
During the meeting, the representatives presented detailed accounts of various issues affecting Chandigarh's traders and citizens—including trade hurdles, civic amenities, infrastructure, administrative procedures, and development-related matters—to Mr. Praveen Khandelwal.
In his address, Praveen Khandelwal stated that he fully understood the issues concerning Chandigarh and was aware that most key administrative and policy decisions regarding the city are made at the Delhi level. He assured the gathering that he would prominently raise these matters with the Hon'ble Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and would make every possible effort to resolve them.
He further added that he would continue to extend his support to address the problems faced by Chandigarh's traders and citizens in the future. If necessary, he would visit Chandigarh to meet Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria and work towards a coordinated effort to resolve local issues.
Khandelwal also assured the representatives of the trade organizations that they could visit him in Delhi at any time and convey their concerns and suggestions to the relevant ministries and departments through him.
In his concluding remarks, Harish Garg expressed gratitude to the chief guest, Praveen Khandelwal, noting that his guidance, experience, and support would pave the way for resolving many critical issues faced by Chandigarh's traders and citizens, while instilling new energy and confidence within the business community.