Nadda slams HP govt for cement price hike, says its false guarantees derailed state economy

Shimla, Oct 1(PTI) Union Health Minister and BJP national president J P Nadda on Wednesday said that while the nation is celebrating the GST Bachat Utsav (savings festival), the Himachal Pradesh government is adding to people's tax burden.

In a statement issued here, Nadda said the Centre has either completely abolished Goods and Services Tax (GST) or reduced it to 5 per cent on more than 90 per cent of items. Tax on items like cement has been reduced from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, which reduced the price of a cement bag by Rs 30. However, instead of transferring this benefit to people, the state government has hiked the cement price, he said.

The Himachal Pradesh government has been looking to impose tax from the day the GST reforms were announced, and is charging up to Rs 16 per a standard 50-kg cement bag in the name of anti-dumping duty, Nadda alleged, adding that Rs 100 is being levied for water supply in rural areas.

The Union minister said it is unfortunate that at a time when the state was facing natural calamities and reeling under acute financial crunch, the government was putting more burden on people, which exposes its insensitive attitude.

The Congress government's false guarantees have derailed the state's economy and the people, who are feeling the heat, would teach it a lesson at the right time, he said.

Meanwhile, Jai Ram Thakur, Leader of Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, said that it was strange that the state government, which came to power by making false promises, was talking about 'vote chori' (vote theft).

He asked how the Congress government, which has backed out from its poll guarantees, would face the people.

Thakur alleged that the Congress party, which had promised one lakh government jobs every year, has so far abolished about 1.5 lakh posts, divesting 15,000 people of their jobs.

He alleged that people who lost their houses, farmlands, orchards and cattle during the recent natural calamities are yet to get interim relief and have been left to fend for themselves. PTI BPL RUK RUK