New Delhi, April 5: Parliamentarians from Punjab on Wednesday rose above politics to jointly demand tax exemption on the community food services at the Golden Temple. In a joint protest to seek a Goods and Services Tax waiver for all ingredients purchased by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to prepare langar at the Golden Temple, MPs from Punjab staged a protest outside Parliament as the Centre dilly dallied on the issue.
Punjab Congress president and Gurdaspur MP Sunil Jakhar initiated the appeal for a joint protest. Akali MPs, including Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Balwinder Singh Bhunder, as well as Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan joined the protest at Jakhar’s call.
Thanking Akali parliamentarians and Ranjeet Ranjan for joining the dharna, Jakhar appealed to all other MPs from Punjab, irrespective of their party affiliations, to collectively raise their voice against the Centre’s refusal to grant the waiver.
Present also at the dharna were Amritsar MP Gurjit Aujla, who earlier drew eyeballs in the Lok Sabha when he entered the House on Wednesday morning wearing a white kurta embossed with a painted message seeking GST exemption for langar. Congress MPs Choudhry Santokh and Ravneet Bittu also participated in the protest.
Jakhar regretted the insensitivity of the BJP-led government for refusing to understand the sentiments of the Punjabis and said the matter hurt the sensitivities of not just the people living in Punjab but also those residing outside.
He said, it would be a nominal amount if it was exempted, but would certainly convey an important message.“We again appeal to the government and hope it will consider the sentiments and sensitivities involved by granting GST exemption on langar items without further delay,” Jakhar said.
Source Tribune India
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