New Delhi, Sep 29 (KNN) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written a letter to PM Modi alleging that the income tax department has been harassing the small businessmen and traders BY conducting raids claiming tax evasion as the income declaration scheme has failed to achieve its goal.

In the letter, Kejriwal said that the SMEs and traders are living under fear because of the raids being conducted by the IT department.

He even pointed that news is doing rounds that the raids have been conducted in the street vendors shops who sell vada pao and jalebi and from October raids would be conducted at the 1 lakh small business houses.

The CM also reminded Modi of his election promise to bring back black money from abroad to help the poor in the country.

"You had hoped that through your scheme you would be able convert black money to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore to white money and show a tax collection of Rs 45,000 crore. But your scheme flopped. Till a few days before the end of this scheme, instead of Rs 1 lakh crore, just Rs 4,000 crore of black money was declared. In comparison, in a similar scheme in 1997, Rs 30,000 crore black money was declared," Kejriwal wrote.

He concludes the letter by asking the PM to step in to stop the drive against small traders and says the closure of businesses of small traders amounts to gross injustice.

AAP's traders' wing too has in a series of tweet has alleged IT department of "harassing" small businessmen stating that the  voluntary Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS) had turned out to be a "damp squib".

AAP traders' wing convenor Brijesh Goyal said traders in the national capital were under a "spell of terror" and the unit would organise protests against this at the major markets in Delhi.

"Instead of looking for black money of big businessmen, the Centre is targeting small traders which is leading to a fear psychosis among them," he said.

Goyal also claimed that thousands of traders have been issued notices by the IT department.

On Friday, the protests will be held at the markets at Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, Nehru Place etc., he said. (KNN Bureau)