New Delhi, 24 August(Wishav Warta): The MLAs of Aam Aadmi Party Punjab on Thursday were detained outside Punjab Bhawan, Delhi, while going hold a ‘Dharna’ in front of the official residence of Harsimrat Kaur Badal in Delhi, to protest the step motherly and discriminatory decision of the Modi government to further extend for ten more years tax concessions to the hill states of J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand etc., at the cost of dilapidated industry of Punjab. The MLAs then sat on the road in front of Punjab Bhawan and raised slogans against Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Modi government. The protest ‘Dharna’ was led by Sukhpal Singh Khaira Leader of Opposition Punjab. The MLAs were later taken into bus by the Delhi police.
Speaking at the ‘Dharna’ Khaira said, it was the then Vajpayee government in 1999 that first initiated complete tax benefits of central excise duty, sales tax, income tax etc. to the said hill states. The ‘Dharna’ he said was organised in front of the house of Harsimrat Badal because her husband Sukhbir Singh Badal was the Industries Minister in the Vajpayee government that wrecked havoc upon the industry of Punjab through this discriminatory decision. This policy was further pursued forward by the Dr. Manmohan Singh led Congress government for 10 more years. Now again, the Modi government has decided to extend tax benefits to the hill states for another 10 years, to which cabinet decision Harsimrat Kaur Badal is a signatory.
The LOP said that since the benefits of complete waiver of central excise duty, sales tax etc. cannot be given to the hill states in view of the recently adopted GST law, the GOI has taken a mischievous route to refund all such taxes collected by central and state governments back to the industrial units of these hill states. As per record, as many as 4284 industrial units will benefit from new tax waiver decision by the BJP government and a sum of Rs. 27,413 crore will be refunded as subsidy, to the said units. He said that BJP’s promise of ‘One Nation – One Tax’ has turned out to be farce.
“This discriminatory decision is also a big setback and a tight rap to Capt. Amarinder Singh who has been repeatedly going to Mr. Modi PM with a begging bowl and offering bouquets. Instead of giving any package to the beleaguered farmers of Punjab, the Modi government has further embarked upon the path to rout the industry of Punjab. I suggest that Capt. Amarinder Singh must also come and sit in a ‘Dharna’ against the Modi government, as no new industrial investment will come to Punjab till this package to hill states is withdrawn.” the leader said. AAP MLA’s dared Harsimrat Kaur Badal to resign from the cabinet of Modi as a mark of protest against the said anti Punjab decision, if she is genuinely concerned about the plight of the state. Or else it would be presumed that like her husband Sukhbir Singh Badal, she is also anti Punjab and responsible for the decline of industry.
The Co-President of AAP Punjab and MLA Aman Arora, MLA H.S. Phoolka, Nazar Singh Manshahia, Prof. Baljinder Kaur, Principal Budhram, Master Baldev Singh, Rupinder Kaur Ruby, Jagdev Singh Kamalu, Harpal Cheema, Amarjeet Singh Sandoa, Jagtar Singh Hissowal, Jai KIshan Rodi, Kulwant Singh Pandori, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, Meet Hayer and Pirmal Singh Dhaula were also present during the ‘Dharna’.
