Lucknow, Oct 29 (IANS): The Samajwadi Party (SP) will hold a ‘padyatra’ on November 2 to extend support to retailers and small shopkeepers who are protesting against online business in all districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Samajwadi Vyapar Mahasabha Uttar Pradesh president, Pradeep Jaiswal, said the retailers and small traders had been badly affected by the online business.

He said the SP leaders will put red caps on the heads of small traders to show the SP’s solidarity with them and convey how the BJP government has fooled them.

He alleged that the BJP has always cheated small traders while claiming that the SP has given them respect.

Senior vice president UP Samajwadi Vyapar Mahasabha, Abhimanyu Gupta said the small traders were badly affected by the demonetisation, the imposition of the GST and inspector raj and the online business had added to their problems.

He said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, during his tenure as UP chief minister, had patronised the small traders.

Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, in a Press statement, said the BJP was following anti-farmer policies that were benefiting the capitalist. He alleged that the BJP’s double engine government has betrayed farmers.

He said the BJP government has failed to make any arrangements for procurement of paddy. He said the farmers did not get minimum support price (MSP) for wheat and they were not getting the MSP for paddy as well.