Mathura, April 6: Terming Pakistan a "nasur" (ulcer), Uttar Pradesh minister Srikant Sharma said if troops of the neighbouring country fire on Indian soldiers, it should be retaliated with "a rain of firing". The minister said this on Wednesday during a conclave here organized by an all-India traders' body. "Pakistan is a 'nasur' (ulcer). Soldiers have been instructed to maintain restrain. However, if firing starts from the other side, there should be a rain of firing till the enemy is forced to take shelter in bunkers," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh Power minister also discussed the expansion of the All India Udyog Vyapaar Mandal's (AIUVM) traders identification programme. Shopkeepers, vendors, and traders under the programme, launched in 2006, are given identity cards, which Sharma said "instills a sense of safety" among members of the business community. "The government will cooperate with the traders' body and help it take the programme to every district in the state. The Stariya Vyapari Dukandar Parichay Patra Yojana (trader identification scheme) instills a sense of safety in the trader community," he said.

State vice president, AIUVM, Murari Agrawal, said the programme, currently is limited to only four districts in Uttar Pradesh, now efforts are being made to take it all the districts. Traders and shopkeepers are safe in BJP-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh, Sharma claimed. "The magnitude of corruption, in the previous government in the state was so big that traders felt insecure. Power brokers, in the previous government, were engaged in kidnapping for ransom," he alleged.

The minister also condemned the recent incidents of violence during "Bharat Bandh". The pan-Indian shutdown was called by Dalit outfits against the alleged dilution in the provisions of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Supreme Court. The Power minister assured that electricity supply infrastructure in Mathura was being improved so that pilgrims coming here do not face problems. Claiming that there was a uniform supply of power in the state, he said, "Gone are the days when the privilege of round the clock power supply was limited to four or five districts.