Jammu traders threaten stir over delay in GST implementation

 

In what could make put the PDP-BJP government in a quandary, the traders of Jammu have threatened to launch an agitation over the delay in the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) in the state.

The Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCI) had called an urgent meeting of its office bearers today at Chamber House to discuss the “confusion regarding implementation of GST in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.’’

President CCI, Rakesh Gupta, has expressed serious concern regarding non-serious attitude adopted by the government leaving the business community in utter confusion. They have conveyed their concerns to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and other BJP leaders and taken an exception to the silence maintained by the local unit of the party over the issue, while threatening to launch an agitation.

 The CCI has sent a communiqué to Modi, Amit Shah, national president of BJP, Ram Madhav, national general secretary BJP, Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister and Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister, “questioning the silence of BJP state unit’’ over the matter.

“It is extremely unfortunate that the utter silence of BJP J&K Unit on the implementation of GST  is proving disastrous for the business community  on the whole in our  state. We feel perplexed that being the coalition ruling partner in the state of J&K government  your state unit is silent and not coming out in open support for implementation of GST in line with the nation,’’ the communiqué read.

 “ We thought it proper to send out this communication because in the past also on many occasions the silence of the state unit of BJP left no choice for the Chamber of Commerce & Industry and rather forced  us to go for Jammu bandh to press our genuine demands against our wishes.  We request your intervention urgently and strongly & direct the state BJP unit to stand up to the occasion or else the Chamber shall have no choice but to stand by the side of the nation and not the separatist forces in our state,’’ read the communiqué.

 Contrary to the threat by the Jammu traders, the Srinagar traders have sought that the implementation of the GST should be delayed as it undermines the special constitutional position of the state as well as the fiscal autonomy.

 

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