Cong MLAs oppose property tax

Congress legislators of the district have threatened to start an agitation, if the state government does not roll back its decision to levy property tax in urban areas. Sunder Sham Arora and Sangat Singh Gilgian, MLAs from Hoshiarpur and Urmur, respectively and associate member MLA Rajnish Kumar Babbi from Mukerian, condemned the move and asked the government to withdraw the 'draconian' law.

Arora, who is also the district Congress president, said that the government had burdened the common man, for whom buying or constructing a house or a piece of land was almost next to impossible these days.

He said that colonies, where the local bodies had not provided civic amenities to the citizens, had also been covered under the new tax regime.

"We condemn this move and warn the government to withdraw it or the Congress workers will protest and take to the streets," he said. By levying tax on virtually every kind of property in the state, the government intended to make all citizens its tenants, he added.

Arora said that people who had purchased land and built houses in the colonies termed illegal by the government, were also facing harassment as registration work had been completely stopped.

He said that the government had been blinded by its success in the assembly elections and was taking unfair decisions, which were adversely impacting the life of the common man.

Gilgian said that Punjab was the only state in the country to have imposed property tax. Senior leader Dr Raj Kumar questioned BJP's silence on the issue. "The BJP claims to be the protagonist of urban community, but it has observed a silence on matters concerning this section of the society," he alleged.

If the government wanted to reduce the fiscal deficit, it should employ other appropriate means and not indulge in anti-people policies.

If the government wanted to reduce the fiscal deficit, it should employ other appropriate means to do so and not take anti people policies, he said.