JAMMU: Dubbing the amendment in taxation laws passed in the Lok Sabha recently as an incentive for the black-money hoarders, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) staged a massive protest against the move.
Panther activists spearheaded by party Chairman Harsh Dev Singh and Yashpal Kundal along with other leaders assembled at Exhibition Ground here and torched the effigy of the NDA government amidst anti-BJP slogans.
Harsh, while addressing the media, said that the newly proposed law provides those with unaccounted cash or deposits of demonetized Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes to pay 50% tax and come clean, while a 25% of the amount declared would be locked in for four years in interest free deposits and leaving such declarant with the rest 25 per cent of funds for immediate use.
He divulged that the new legislation instead of plugging the loopholes in the existing laws would give a lifetime opportunity to the tax evaders to legalize their black money thus enabling them to convert 50 per cent of their black money into white.
He further maintained that apprehensions were brewing in the minds of the public that the new “50:50” formula had been evolved to help the hoarders of black money who financed various political parties during the elections.
Describing the new provision as an obnoxious piece of superimposed legislation, Harsh said that it was necessary that the Lok Sabha should have been in perfect order when such a key bill was discussed and it should not have been done until the discussion on demonetization took place.
He added that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley surreptitiously introduced the bill when the entire opposition was demanding initiation of debate on the demonetization issue.
He said that the common man had supported the demonetisation move only for the reason that it would wipe out the black money but the recent move had totally disappointed them.
Yashpal Kundal said that the BJP was misleading under the pretext of the new amendment in the taxation laws that the ‘locked in’ money would be utilized for developmental activities but actually it had provided a fresh breather to the black money hoarders and a fresh lease of life to the scrapped currency.
Others who spoke on the occasion included Rajesh Padgotra, Naresh Chib, Kewal Krishan Sharma, Rajesh Gondhi, Udheyveer Singh, Jagdish Kumar, Rakesh Verma, Shail Singh, Shankar Singh Sanju and Arun Sharma.