Law and order should not be violated: CII

New Delhi: A day after violence broke out during farmers' tractor parade in the national capital, CII on Wednesday said law and order should not be violated and the Centre as well as protesting farmers must be open to dialogue for reaching a solution.

In an interview to PTI, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President Uday Kotak said: "While we recognise the importance of peaceful protest, it has to be something which is consistent with making sure that public law and order is not violated". He observed that enough dialogue has taken place on the three new agriculture laws over the last two months. However, Kotak added that both parties (government and protesting farmers) must be open to dialogue for getting a sustainable solution.

The tractor parade on Tuesday that was to highlight the demands of the farmer unions to repeal three new agriculture laws dissolved into anarchy on the streets of the city as tens of thousands of protesters broke through barriers, fought with police, overturned vehicles and hoisted a religious flag from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort. Besides, sharing economic growth prospects for the current financial year, the CII President said based on various estimates, there was a consensus that India's GDP would witness a contraction of 7-8.5 per cent in 2020-21. However, he added that for the current fiscal year, one should not measure the economic growth rate versus the GDP in 2019-20 as it was an exceptional pandemic year.