Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 7: Describing imposition of service tax on the helicopter service from Katra to Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine on Trikuta Hills as beginning of the bigger BJP-RSS Plan to take over the control of the Shrine Board, Provincial President Devender Singh Rana today said the people in general and the National Conference in particular will fight this sinister move tooth and nail.
“We won’t allow BJP-RSS to spread its tentacles to the management of the revered and most thronged holy shrine of Northern India”, Mr Rana said in a statement and cautioned the PDP-BJP Government against any such misadventure. He said overt and covert attempts are being made to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, 1986 to carve out a role for the Sangh Parivar in the shrine affairs.
Mr Rana said the levying of service tax should not be viewed in isolation, as it is not going to add up much to the state coffers but this is being done with a definite road-map on the instructions from Nagpur and Jhandewaala. “The PDP is more than pleased to further the Sangh agenda in Jammu and Kashmir”, he observed.
He gave the backdrop in which the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board had been constituted by a legislative Act during the tenure of Dr Farooq Abdullah as the Chief Minister and said the moot idea was to manage the affairs of the growing pilgrimage professionally and on modern lines. The purpose was achieved as most distinguished persons in variant fields remained associated with the Board from time to time.
“Even presently, the Board constitutes very prominent persons of the country, which seems to be an eyesore for the BJP”, Mr Rana said and expressed anguish over PDP becoming a party in the Sangh game plan of controlling the Board.
The Provincial President said the Coalition Government was playing with fire, as the anti-pilgrim measures will have serious ramifications country wide. He said the BJP is exerting pressure and pulls to demoralise the Shrine Board by interference and other tactics like levying of service tax on choppers. “Ironically, this follows the levying of road tax at Ban Toll Plaza in Nagrota which directly hits the pilgrims in terms of additional burden on the fare structure and long waiting for depositing the toll”, he maintained.
Mr Rana expressed apprehensions that if the Coalition Government is allowed to get away with levying the service tax, it will be encouraged to take similar other anti-yatra measures in order to sap the morale of the duly constituted Shrine Board. “The Governor, in his capacity as Chairman of the Shrine Board should assert and not allow such a levy to be imposed on pilgrims”, he said, adding that if the decision is not rescinded, the people will be constrained to come on streets. He said the anti-yatra measures are going to adversely impact tourist trade and hit the economy of the region.
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