Delhi Traders Slam Police for Allowing Muslim Vendors' Protest March

A traders’ body in Delhi on Tuesday slammed the police for allowing a protest march in Old Delhi’s Walled City. The traders’ organisation, Chandni Chowk Nagrik Manch, described the participants as “Muslim encroachers’ mafia”, alleging that they were “occupying public spaces”. In a statement to the press, Chandni Chowk Nagrik Manch general secretary Praveen Shankar Kapoor, who is also a spokesperson for the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said around 300 people participated in a procession from Town Hall to the Red Fort, passing through parts of Chandni Chowk and Jama Masjid. The protest rally was called on February 25 by various associations of the street vendors at Chandni Chowk. The protesters demanded the implementation of the Street Vendors Act, 2014. The protesters said due to the non-implementation of the law, they were being exploited and repeatedly evicted. Kapoor, however, criticised the local police for allowing the protest march. In his statement, he alleged that the protesters were “encroachers” and referred to them as a “Muslim encroachers’ mafia”. He said the protesters raised slogans claiming rights over government land. He also shared a video of the said protest, where vendors were seen raising the slogan, “ Jo zameen sarkari hai, woh zameen hamari hai [Government land is our land].” . @DelhiPolice की उपस्थिती में शर्मनाक कुकृत्य चाँदनी चौक, पुरानी दिल्ली में सड़कों पर कब्जा करने वालेमुस्लिम अतिक्रमणकारियों ने नारे लगाये — “जो जमीन सरकारी है – वो जमीन हमारी है।” @PTI_News @ANI @ians_india @LtGovDelhi @Virend_Sachdeva @PavanRanaRSS @PKhandelwal_MP … pic.twitter.com/xUT3QSFrhJ — Praveen Shankar Kapoor (@praveenskapoor) February 25, 2026 Apart from raising objection over the slogan, Kapoor said that traders and residents of the area have repeatedly sought removal of alleged illegal encroachments in the Walled City. He added that the Chandni Chowk MP Praveen Khandelwal, the area’s BJP councillor, and several traders’ and residents’ associations have raised the issue with authorities, including the Delhi government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the police. The traders’ body also referred to recent observations by the Delhi High Court expressing concern over encroachments around Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk, and said the matter would now be taken up with the Lt Governor and the Chief Minister.