Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 3: Anticipa-ting fissures becoming wider between J&K and Union of India due to uncertainty over the implementation of GST in the State, a large number of NPP activists led by chairman of the party Harsh Dev Singh staged a protest demonstration at Exhibition Ground here today.
Angry protesters while raising anti-Government slogans, torched an effigy of the `BJP-PDP coalition’ and sought immediate effectuation of the new tax regime in the J&K State. While addressing the media, Harsh Dev Singh squarely held the BJP-PDP alliance culpable for deliberately excluding J&K from GST implementation from July 1, 2017 when the entire nation had embarked on a new tax system. He said that the non- adoption of the GST had not only pushed the State into economic crisis but also forced the consumers and the traders to suffer the ordeal of the double taxation. He regretted that the ominous decision has further widened the fissure and alienation between J&K and rest of India with all saffron slogans of complete integration with Indian Union having deflated and belied on ground.
Lambasting the BJP-PDP coalition for succumbing to the pressure and dictates of the Kashmiri separatists, he said that the State Govt had indirectly conveyed to secessionist forces that it had not jumped into the national bandwagon on GST and refrained itself from sailing in Indian mainstream. He rued that uncertainty over the effectuation of new tax regime in the State had further emboldened the anti- nationals and the subversives operating in the valley who had waged an open war against India and refused to accept her sovereignty over Kashmir.
Surprised over the State Govt’s announcement to hold legislature session from July 4 to 8 for discussing the GST law, Harsh Dev wondered that if the Govt had decided to summon the House for the purpose, why it could not do it prior to July 1, 2017 deadline fixed for the purpose. “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 Art 370 for almost 40 times with no legislature session having ever been convened for the purpose?” asked Harsh Dev.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Yash Pal Kundal, Rajesh Padgotra, Gagan Partap, Nirmal Kishore, Rohit Sharma and Parduman Singh.
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