Govt's response on tax withdrawal demand a cruel joke: Cong

Congress today termed the imposition of service tax on helicopter services in Jammu and Kashmir as "highly provocative" and said the BJP-PDP government's response to the demands of the people to withdraw the tax is a "cruel joke" with their religious sentiments.
"The BJP-PDP coalition government's response to the demands of the people to withdraw the service tax is a cruel joke with the religious sentiments of the people of the county and the state," Chief Spokesman of the state unit of Congress Ravinder Sharma said.
Reacting to the state government's attitude to go ahead with the service tax on the air travel services for the pilgrims of Vaishno Devi, Amar Nath, Mata Machail Yatra and other pilgrimage in the state, Sharma described it as a deliberate attempt to provoke religious sentiments which can have serious consequences.

"There is strong resentment among people over this unjustified step with some ulterior motive behind this action. This has happened for the first time in the State, when BJP is equal partner in the coalition, though they (BJP) have numbers but they lack any authority," Sharma said.
Questioning the BJP for its failure to get the order reversed, Sharma criticised the BJP leadership for its meek surrender on all issues for the sake of power.
He questioned the status of the PDP-BJP coalition when both coalition partners are taking contradictory stand on almost all important issues.
Sharma described the coalition as a partnership of two opportunist forces to enjoy power.