Congress party on Sunday accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of running a profiteering company and not a government.
Addressing a rally in Panipat's Samalkha, the senior leader of the Congress party, Randeep Singh Surjewala, launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and said, “It is time to remove the BJP from both Delhi and Chandigarh. There is a need of change because Prime Minister Modi is not running a government but a profiteering company. This is a government of profiteering, by profiteering and for profiteering, and hence it is time to change such profiteering company government from Delhi and Haryana."
Drawing a comparison between fuel prices between the present government and the Congress rule, Surjewala accused the Central government of robbing people through increased tax.
“On 26 May 2014 when Congress relinquished government, the rate of diesel was 55.49 Rupees, today the rate has increased to 74.17 Rupees. In 52 weeks the government has increased the rate of diesel by 18.70 Rupees. Petrol price has increased by 10.75 Rupees in the same period. Narendra Modi-led BJP government has imposed 212% tax on petrol and 443% tax on diesel in form of excise duty. Haryana government also increased Value-Added Tax (VAT) from 9.25% to 17.25% on diesel and from 21% to 26.25% on Petrol and through this they made a profit of 18 thousand crore rupees," said the Congress leader.
Terming increased cost of the cooking cylinder as a loot, Surjewala said, “A 14 kg non-subsidy cylinder was 414 Rupees in May 2014 and today it has increased to Rs. 754 by the government and thereafter with tax from Haryana the cost is now 850 Rupees. This is a loot of 12 lakh crore through an increased tax on the gas cylinder.”
Surjewala also termed the BJP rule as the first government in the history of independent India to impose a tax on farming.
He said, “Haryana is a land of farmers and farming is our traditional occupation. Modi and Khattar governments are anti-farmer. This is the first government in 70 years which has imposed a tax on farming. There was never a tax on fertilizer but Modi government imposed 18% GST on fertilizer. Modi government has waived loans of 7 industrialists amounting to 2, 83,000 crore but rejects to waive off farmer loans.”
He also asserted that groundwater has receded by hundreds of feet in different parts of Haryana and demanded that water recharge body be created to replenish these dark zones.
Surjewala told ANI, “ Through tax on petrol and diesel 11 Lakhs crore rupees have been looted by the Modi government in last 52 weeks. The way, in which gas, diesel, petrol prices are increasing every day, it has caused great distress for farmers. We demand that petrol, diesel are brought under the GST. High prices of petrol, diesel found no mention in the Bharatiya Janta Party national executive meeting because they are not able to realise the pain of public. A change will be brought by the public to reply to it".
Congress has called for 'Bharat bandh' against the Narendra Modi-led government over the constant rise in fuel and gas prices, and depreciation of Indian Rupee against the US Dollar.
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