Hooda tears into GST on Khattar’s turf

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 23

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had a show of strength in the constituency of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar through a ‘veopari’ sammelan here today.

Hooda highlighted discrepancies in the GST regime and targeted the Union and state governments. He presented a 12-point letter for a people-friendly GST in the presence of traders.

He threatened to hold a ‘veopari’ mahapanchayat in Haryana after the Parliament session and agitations across the state afterwards if the government did not meet their demands.

Hooda was accompanied by his son Deepender Hooda, MP and sammelan convener, former Speaker Kuldeep Sharma and former MLA Sumita Singh. Hooda asked the Centre to simplify GST.

He demanded a provision of filing two returns a year, exemption for cloth traders, revocation on farm-related goods and exemption in rules for small traders.

He said the slogan of one tax, one nation should be implemented strictly and the provision of registering traders in other states should be changed. He said the 28 per cent tax slab should be abolished.

He accused the Central government of strangling small traders and farmers by imposing high GST rates. “The Congress is not against GST, but is opposing flaws in newly introduced GST,” he said.

He demanded that farmers should be kept outside the scope of GST. The government should be responsible for tackling defaulters, asserted the former CM.

He demanded inclusion of petroleum products in the GST regime for providing relief. He demanded revocation of the search-and-seize provision as it would lead to inspector raj.

Deepender criticised the government for imposing GST on ‘langar’ and termed it as ‘jazia’. He said the Congress would fight for traders and religious institutions and bring a pen-down motion in Parliament to remove GST flaws.

Kuldeep announced that Manohar Lal Khattar would contest the next election from Gurugram and not Karnal. Former MLA Nafe Singh Valmiki joined the Congress on the occasion. He was earlier with the INLD and then the HJC.