Disclosing this to mediapersons here on Tuesday, BJP state president Om Parkash Grover said the Haryana Beopar Mandal delegation, led by Laxmi Chand Gupta, had forwarded a proposal to this effect to Minister for Social Welfare Kamla Verma. Industry Minister Shashipal Mehta and Gharonda, MLA, Romesh Kashyap were also present at the conference.

It may be recalled that the minister is one of the four members of the committee constituted by the government to suggest alternate sources of income to the government to offset the octroi loss.

Earlier, scrapping of octroi had kicked up a row between the BJP and traders. The latter had pinned their faith on the pre-poll plank of the party and had rallied solidly behind it in the '96 elections. But later the traders were a disillusioned lot with the coalition government, as it had failed to keep its word.

The trading community swung the voting pendulum in urban areas against the HVP-BJP combine in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP state president, however, admitted that the traders' outfit, led by Bajrang Das, a protege of former Congress chief minister Bhajan Lal, had not put forward its suggestions.

Referring to the obstruction by arthiyas to the open auction of plots in the New Grain Market in Karnal, Grover said the party firmly believed that priority should be given to those registered arthiyas who are likely to be displaced by the commissioning of the new market. He said he had taken up the matter with the Chief Minister and was hopeful that the proposed auction would not be put off.

Meanwhile, the state BJP chief also ruled out contesting any of the two Rajya Sabha seats for which elections would be held on June 18.He also informed that his party had constituted a three-member committee comprising Manohar Lal, Kailash Sharma and Kamla Verma to talk to the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) to clear the obstacles for membership to various market committees in the state.

The BJP president also said the party's decision to contest on its own in the next Assembly elections had been widely welcomed by the party rank and file. He said his party's arrangement with the ruling HVP was only for a term of five years. Grover seemed upbeat on the BJP's strength, as the party had developed a strong and dedicated cadre in the rural areas.

The state BJP chief said his on-going programme to meet party workers in all the 19 districts would resume on June 12.