ST status to Sirmaur's Hattee community poll gimmick: Congress

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 23

On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mandi visit, the Congress said today that the Union Cabinet’s recent approval of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Hattee community of Sirmaur was a poll gimmick. It lacked parliamentary approval and was meant to mislead people.

Revoke 18% GST on apple boxes: Rathore

The Prime Minister had, at a rally in Mandi earlier, promised that Pepsi and Coke would include 5 per cent fruit juice in their drinks. What happened to that? Also, 18 per cent GST on apple boxes must be revoked. Kuldeep Rathore, HPCC Ex-president

AICC in-charge for Himachal Rajeev Shukla dared the government to call a special session of Parliament to approve the amendment to the Constitution as cleared by the Cabinet recently. He said, “The Cabinet decision is merely a ‘jumla’. It means nothing unless Parliament passes the Bill. Let the government call a special session before the Himachal elections and pass the Bill granting ST status to Hattees, if it means what it says.”

Shukla, while addressing mediaperson here, accused the Himachal government of misleading the Prime Minister on the state of youth. He said 5.20 lakh youth were jobless, 66,500 government posts were vacant, HImachal’s share in the armed forces, which is currently 4 per cent, was likely to drop due to protests against the Agnipath scheme and the state was reeling under a debt of Rs 70,000 crore.

Shukla urged the Election Commission to take note of the Himachal Government’s spending on the Prime Minister’s programme ahead of the state elections.

Former HPCC president Kuldeep Rathore said the local apple industry was being hit due to the import of apple from 40 countries. He urged the Prime Minister to fulfil the past poll promise of imposing 100 per cent duty on imported apple.

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