JAMMU: National Conference Provincial President, Devender Singh Rana on Saturday assailed PDP-BJP Government for giving exit window to chronic tax-evaders as also those of the liquor trade who have evaded tax from 2006 to 2015, citing public interest and reiterated the demand for rollback of recent SROs pertaining to amnesty in General Sales Tax, wherein the likely waiver would be more than Rs 1,000 crore as per estimates projected by the government.
“What a dichotomy; on the one hand the government claims to have financial crunch and on the other hand the same government is offering sops to defaulters and rule-breakers”, Rana said while addressing senior functionaries of National Conference at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan here this morning.
Taking dig at the BJP and its ally PDP for indulging in sheer hypocrisy, Rana wondered how could the Centre, the so-called claimant of bringing revolutionary reforms for the overall public good, condone the brazen and anti-poor decision of its State Government to benefit those fleecing the state-exchequer. “While the decision is needed to be revoked forthwith, the Centre must seek an explanation from the State Government as to what were the compelling circumstances or public interest involved in waiving of the tax of defaulters at a time when the state was passing through difficult phase”, he said, adding that if any conscience is left with the coalition dispensation, the SROs should not only be scrapped but the law enforcing agencies should be activated to realize dues from defaulters in a time-bound manner.
Rana said the amnesty has been designed to bail-out few unscrupulous business houses, which evaded taxes till 2004-2005 and the tax evaders in the liquor trade from 2006 till date because now the GST Act 1962 is applicable to those who are engaged with liquor trade”, he said while expressing anguish over the state being denied huge amounts due to the defaulters and interest and penalty accrued upon these. The Provincial President described the move sinister and atrocious as far as public interest is concerned, saying that judicial process had almost reached its climax against the defaulters in pursuant to Public Interest Litigations by public spirited citizens. “However, the unwarranted governmental intervention subverted the realization process of dues and provided an umbrella to unscrupulous defaulters”, he said, maintaining that the amnesty and waiver culture has hit the economy of the state. He said even the Jammu and Kashmir High Court prevented them from waiving of the penalty and not the interest accrued on the evaded tax. However, the government found it prudent to waive the penalty and the interest citing public interest, he added Speaking on the occasion, the former Minister and Senior State Vice President, Surjeet Singh Slathia highlighted the various other anti-people policies of the PDP-BJP Government and said that due to lack of vision and political direction the state has been brought to morass.
“In a situation where people are suffering at the hands of the rudderless government, the role of National Conference as a responsible opposition and custodian of the public interest has become more pronounced”, Slathia said and urged the cadre to close their ranks for meeting challenges confronted to the state.
Among those present on the occasion included State Vice Presidents Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari, Rattan Lal Gupta and Th Kashmira Singh, State Secretary Th Rachpal Singh, Youth National Conference Provincial President Ajaz Jan, Provincial President Women Wing Satwant Kour Dogra, former legislators Abdul Rahim Daad, Sheikh Bashir, Bimla Luthra and Deepinder Kour, Provincial Vice Presidents Choudhry Haroon, Gurdeep Singh Sasan and Anil Dhar, Co-Chairperson PBC/SC Cells Abdul Gani Teli and Vijay Lochan besides Dharamveer Singh Jamwal, Vijay Laxmi Dutta, S.S Bunty, Dilshad Malik, Rashida Begum, K.D Singh and Reeta Gupta.