Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 1: Former minister and Panthers Party chairman Harsh dev Singh today said that the GST controversy has further enhanced the wedge and alienation between J&K and rest of India with all jingoistic rhetoric of BJP of complete integration with Indian union having receded into the oblivion.
“Apart from economic crisis, non implementation of GST in the State has emboldened the separatist forces who have waged an open war against India and refused to accept its sovereignty over Kashmir,” he added.
Questioning the State Government for its announcement to hold legislature session from 4th to 8th July for discussing the GST law, Singh described it yet another ploy to delay and deny the implementation of the law in the State despite its nationwide adoption. “Why does it want to convene a session of legislature when several other Central laws were adopted by the State through a Presidential order under Article 370 with no legislature session having ever been convened for the purpose?” he asked and added that Art 370 was very clear on the subject unambiguously specifying the Central laws which could be extended to the State through Presidential order “in consultation with the Government ” and also those “with concurrence of the Government.”
He said that with “consultation” or “concurrence” of the Government being the determining factor, never before had the legislature been involved in the process of extension of any Central law. He pointed out that no legislature session was convened even to extend the Central Excise Duty and Central Sales Tax to the State of J&K with the State acquiescing in the same without any hue and cry. “And if at all the Government had decided to take the unprecedented step of summoning the legislature for the purpose, why did it not do it prior to July 1, 2017 deadline fixed for the purpose?” questioned Harsh.
Lambasting the BJP for its lame-duck, submissive and cowardly posturing, Singh said that by surrendering on all its pious slogans and fundamentals, the party had not only fallen from grace but also had rendered itself an object of ridicule and contemptuous humorous disparagement.
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