The Hindu : New Delhi News : Proposal anti-people: Opposition

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 10, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Proposal anti-people: Opposition

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, DEC. 9. Terming the annual budget presentation of the Municipal Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta, as "anti-people", the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party today demanded withdrawal of the proposal to levy a professional tax from next year.

While the only BJP member in the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Vijender Kumar Gupta, staged a "walk-out" soon after Mr. Mehta made the proposal, the Leader of the Opposition, Subhash Arya, said the BJP would oppose it both within and outside the civic body. "Instead of augmenting its resources, the Congress-ruled administration is imposing new taxes on the people of the Capital," Mr. Kumar alleged. Reacting to the annual budget presentation of Mr. Mehta, he claimed that the revenue collection had come down substantially and the MCD had completely failed in "augmenting" its existing sources of revenue. "Resources are not being utilised properly," he said.

Mr. Kumar claimed that Mr. Mehta had increased the transfer duty from 3 per cent to 5 per cent. "There is no justification for increasing it," he said at press conference after the budget speech. At another press conference, Mr. Arya termed it as an anti-people and anti-poor budget. "There is no talk of reforms and schemes for the poor and economically deprived sections of society," Mr. Arya said.

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