Former Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira has accused deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal of misleading people of the state.
In a press release issued on Saturday, Khaira claimed that Sukhbir was blaming the Central government for the state’s failures to manage funds.
“How mischievously, he tried to escape from the state government’s failures and its anti-people policies,” read the release.
“People of the state know that as per practice the Central government allocates funds for various development schemes to states depending upon their contribution to the Central pool. This practice has been in force ever since the inception of modern-day governance,” he said.
He said the state government had been working without any plans to improve the state’s declining economy.
“Were all the fresh taxes imposed by the Punjab government also a result of arm-twisting by the UPA government?” he asked.
Khaira wrote in the press release that instead of rationalising taxes, the government had increased the value-added tax (VAT) by.5% on various goods.
“Stamp duty, vehicle registration, property tax, increase in retirement age due to non-availability of funds and increase of taxes on hotels and marriage palaces. The list of government’s injustices is very long,” Khaira said.
{{/usCountry}}“Stamp duty, vehicle registration, property tax, increase in retirement age due to non-availability of funds and increase of taxes on hotels and marriage palaces. The list of government’s injustices is very long,” Khaira said.
{{/usCountry}}He demanded a while paper from the SAD-BJP government on the Centrally-funded schemes in Punjab for the last five financial years.