MUMBAI: Prahlad Modi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's younger brother and vice-president of All-India Fair Price Shop Association, asked traders not to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) till their demands were met by authorities and advised them to launch an agitation over the issue to convey their message to the central as well as the Maharashtra government.

Prahlad Modi was addressing several traders and retail shop owners from Thane district and adjoining Ulhasnagar and Ambernath who had raised various issues like, adverse effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown and also cases lodged against them for COVID-19 norm violations.

Traders and retailers said the sector was reeling under an acute economic crisis, with e-commerce platforms further adding to the woes and the clampdown by the local police and other authorities had pushed them to the brink. 

Addressing the retailers Prahlad Modi said, "Be it Narendra Modi or anyone else, they have to listen to you. Today I am telling you this, first write to the Maharashtra government that we will not pay GST till you listen to us. We are living in a democratic country, not under slavery."

He further said that the government will not awake on its own and unless the traders and retailers launch an all India agitation over the issue to convey their message to the state and central government about their problems.

Prahlad Modi is 65 years old and is the fourth of six children born to Damodardas Modi and Hira Ben Modi after Narendra Modi and used to run a ration shop in Ahmedabad, but retired recently owning to old age. 

Earlier in February this year, Prahlad Modi's brother embarked on sit-in dharna at Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport in Lucknow, when he learnt that his supporters who had come to receive him had been held by local police. 

Prahlad Modi had said that he had come to Uttar Pradesh to take part in some social programmes in Sultanpur, Jaunpur and Pratapgarh, however, after reaching the airport he came to know that the workers who were coming to receive me were held by the Lucknow police and made to sit in a police station. He had later called off his protest when he was informed that no arrests had been made on account of his visit.