Punjab govt 'looting' traders, says BJP

Chandigarh, April 22 (IANS) The BJP blamed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on Tuesday for "looting" traders in the state to cover expenses of its leaders in Delhi.

"The AAP government is now using the Taxation Department as a tool for extortion," state BJP General Secretary Anil Sareen told the media here.

"There is a saying in Punjabi: 'Eat your own, bring ours too'. That's exactly the state of affairs under the AAP government," he said.

Sareen said the AAP government issued a new directive on April 18, instructing Deputy Commissioners in the Taxation Department to ensure that each Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO) conducts four inspections every month and resolves them within a one-month timeframe.

"This would result in around 1,200 inspections across the state each month. If an average penalty of Rs 8 lakh is imposed per inspection, the monthly collection would total Rs 96 crore and annually a staggering Rs 1,152 crore," he said.

He said this would undoubtedly lead to arbitrary actions by officials and promote a culture of inspector raj and open corruption.

Accompanying Punjab BJP General Secretary Rakesh Rathore, state media head Vineet Joshi, joint cashier Sukhwinder Singh Goldy and former vice-chairman of the National Minority Commission, Manjit Singh Rai, Sareen further stated that the government has unofficially instructed officers that every inspection must yield fines of Rs 8 to Rs 10 lakh.

"This isn't merely harassment of traders, it's direct robbery of their hard-earned money," he alleged.

He also referred to the economic losses suffered due to the closure of the Shambhu border and criticised the state government for "failing" to understand the challenges of a border state, choosing instead to intimidate the business community.

Sareen warned that if the government does not roll back this directive and stop "extorting" traders, the BJP will launch a statewide agitation in protest.

--IANS

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