West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, 26 May 2026, used International Hawkers Day to both congratulate street vendors across the world and launch a sharp political attack, alleging that the BJP government in West Bengal is perpetrating crackdowns, evictions, and demolitions of hawkers' stalls, leaving vendors destitute. Posting in Bengali on X, she declared herself 'shocked, angry, and deeply pained' by what she described as oppression of the working poor.

In her post, Banerjee wrote — translated from Bengali — 'আপনাদের পাশে ছিলাম, আছি, থাকবো' ('I was with you, I am with you, I will remain with you'), pledging solidarity with hawkers. She also warned that 'অত্যাচারীরা এর জবাব নিশ্চয়ই পাবে' — 'the oppressors will certainly face consequences.'

Context

International Hawkers Day, observed on 26 May every year, recognises the contribution of street vendors, hawkers, and informal-sector small traders as the backbone of local economies. Banerjee's post went beyond customary greetings, framing the occasion as a moment to highlight what she characterised as systematic targeting of hawkers by a rival political administration.

The Chief Minister described street vendors as those who 'link large-scale production systems with the daily needs of ordinary people' and deliver essential goods at affordable prices to doorsteps — while acknowledging the perennial tension between hawker livelihoods and urban planning needs.

Policy Backdrop

India's legal framework for street vendors rests on a foundation built by the Supreme Court of India across several decades. In Bombay Hawkers Union vs Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985), the court first recognised hawkers' right to livelihood while permitting reasonable restrictions in the public interest. In Sodan Singh vs New Delhi Municipal Committee (1989), the apex court explicitly linked pavement vending to the fundamental right to practise any profession or trade under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.

The landmark Genda Ram vs Municipal Corporation of Delhi (2010) ruling proved to be the direct catalyst for central legislation: the court expressed deep concern at hawkers' vulnerability to arbitrary evictions and extortion in the absence of a statutory framework. The result was the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, which mandates participatory Town Vending Committees (TVCs), designated vending zones, and a survey-before-eviction requirement. The Maharashtra Ekta Hawkers Union vs Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (2013) ruling reinforced interim protections in the run-up to the 2014 statute.

The settled legal doctrine holds that summary evictions without survey or alternative rehabilitation violate Article 21 — the right to life and livelihood — and that hawker regulation must flow through democratic TVCs rather than unilateral municipal action.

Stakeholders and Impact

Street vendors constitute a critical layer of India's urban informal economy, providing self-employment to lakhs of low-income households that have no access to corporate or government jobs. Any large-scale eviction drive disrupts not only the vendors' incomes but also the affordable supply chain for daily necessities relied upon by low- and middle-income urban consumers.

The 2014 Street Vendors Act gives vendors a statutory right to a certificate of vending and requires every urban local body to constitute a TVC with vendor representation. Allegations of evictions without following this process, if substantiated, would raise direct questions of statutory compliance and constitutional protection under Articles 19(1)(g) and 21.

What's Next

Banerjee's post is likely to intensify political scrutiny of urban local body actions in West Bengal and could prompt vendor unions or legal advocates to approach courts citing the 2014 Act and Supreme Court precedents. The functioning — or non-functioning — of Town Vending Committees across West Bengal's municipal bodies will be a key indicator of whether the statutory framework is being honoured. With street-vendor welfare emerging as an electoral flashpoint, the coming weeks may see both political mobilisation and potential judicial interventions on the ground.