Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, Feb, 26
Strongly condemning the ruling dispensation for imposing huge taxation on goods and services of essential and day to day consumption particularly petrol, diesel and LPG, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh JKNPP Chairman and Former Minister said that the raging prices of such commodities had posed the severest threat to the very survival of the common man. The precipitous hike in prices of fuel followed by increased fares and corresponding carriage charges was resulting in escalation of prices of all other goods thereby causing innumerable hardships to the poor and marginalized sections of society.
The woes of the common masses were further compounded due to slump in the employment market, retrenchments in the public as well as private sector and the ever growing unemployment making it difficult for a vast majority of population to make both ends meet. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu today.
Reminding the BJP of its grandiloquent promises made to the gullible masses during 2014 elections and thereafter, Mr. Singh said that it has done the reverse of what it actually committed. Curbing price rise and tackling unemployment were the major poll planks of BJP during elections.
It has however cheated the electorates on both the slogans. While country is faced with worst ever unemployment scenario despite BJP’s slogans of providing two crore Jobs per year, the taxation burden was at an all time high with essentials being sold at unprecedented prices.
Pointing towards the tax terrorism of BJP regime, Mr. Singh said that while crude oil cost in the global market was Rs. 28 per litre, the consumers are being charged over Rs. 90 litre for petrol and over Rs. 80 per litre for diesel. He said that such enhanced prices of fuel in India was the cumulative effect of huge taxation in the form of excise duty, road cess, Agri cess and VAT imposed by the BJP led govt at the centre together with huge margins of oil companies. He said that the total taxation on petrol was Rs. 37.89 in Modi rule as against Rs. 9.48 per litre prior to 2014. While the Modi govt had replaced VAT by GST on all other items, it had deliberately kept petrol and diesel outside the purview of GST only to impose multiple taxation on these products and thereby continue to generate funds by taking benefit of fluctuating global prices of crude oil, said Singh.
Accusing the BJP govt of filling its own coffers at the cost of the common man and denying the benefits of declining prices which had naturally accrued to the economically weaker sections, Mr. Singh said that it had most shamelessly betrayed the sentiments of the marginalized sections across the nation.
Not only was petrol and diesel being provided at exorbitant rates by the present regime, the prices of other essential commodities like cooking gas and eatables had also sky rocketed during the BJP led govt, maintained Singh. The vegetables, the pulses, foodgrains and other items of day to day use had witnessed steep rise in their prices thus making the life of common man miserable.
The rates of cooking gas were drastically increased thereby making a mockery of free gas connections scheme launched by the centre.
The steep rise in prices of essentials by huge taxation imposed upon them could make things difficult for consumers and even worse for the BJP govt, asserted Singh.
Mr. Gagan Pratap Singh, Mr. Parshotam Parihar, (State Secretaries-JKNPP) and Mr. Surinder Chou han, (District President-Jammu Rural of JKNPP) were also present in the press conference.
