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Chandigarh, February 16 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked the Congress government not to do lip sympathy on the issue of goonda tax being appropriated from transporters at the Bathinda refinery in the form of JST (Jojo Service Tax) and take concrete action on the ground by registering a case against the perpetrators and arresting them within 24 hours.
In a statement here, former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the SAD’s stand that goonda tax was being enforced by Congress legislators as well as a relative of finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal had been vindicated with fellow cabinet colleagues raising this issue in the cabinet yesterday and demanding action against those resorting to such illegal activities. “Manpreet Badal tried to play the victim card by stating that he was being vilified but this did not cut any ice with a cabinet colleague who reminded him that his relative was stated to be heading the consortium that was collecting protection money from transporters. The SAD appreciates Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa for setting the record straight and calling a spade a spade”.
Dr Cheema said it is a known fact that people collecting goonda tax call the shots from the finance minister’s residence. “The police have failed to take action in the matter despite the fact that it is the for the first time in the history of the State that it’s largest investor – the Bathinda refinery – has gone on record to give evidence about collection of goonda tax. It is a known fact that in Manpreet Badal’s absence his brother in law Jaijeet Singh Johal calls the shots in the constituency. No local police officer can be expected to take action against him. In view of these facts a sitting judge of the high court should inquire into the entire matter. Only this can restore the morale of the trade and industry in the Malwa region”, he added.
Stating that general directions on this sensitive issue would not serve any purpose, Dr Cheema said the inability of the government to take concrete action had already harmed the image of the State and would result in new investors shunning Punjab. “There are already reports that the Bathinda refinery management is having second thoughts about investing in the proposed petro-chemical project which is to come up along with the refinery. Any such adverse decision on the behalf of the refinery management would sound the death knell for the industrial development of Bathinda”, he added.
The Akali leader said the Congress government should not do anything to disrupt the pro-investment climate created by the former SAD-BJP government through a series of reforms, including establishment of the Invest Punjab department. “Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has also banked on these steps including the power surplus status of the State, fast clearances as well as peaceful industrial climate to invite investment to Punjab as was witnessed during his Mumbai meetings with industry heads. However recent cases of goondaism have spoiled the industrial climate of the State. This should not be allowed to go out of hand and the State must act against all those behind imposition of goonda tax, however high they might be”, Dr Cheema added.
