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| Jaziya on Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage | | Cong exposes BJP by moving adjournment motion | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Oct 4: Early Times earlyier this week said while the out-of-power Congress has turned "rightist" (read secular) to retrieve political space it lost to the BJP in Jammu region, the BJP has turned "ultra-secular" (read anti-Jammu, anti-Hindu and pro-Kashmir). The claim was not a figment of imagination. The assessment was based on the role some senior Congress leaders from Jammu played after the formation of the PDP-BJP coalition Government in the state last March. It was also based on the attack Congress national spokesperson Abishekh Manu Singhvi launched against the PDP-BJP coalition Government, when it imposed 12.5 per cent service tax on chopper services to Hindu religious places, including the Holy Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. He surprised the nation by describing the service tax as Jaziya and demanded its rollback.
During the past seven months, the Congress not only supported in a big way the movement for the establishment of All-India Institute of Medical sciences in Jammu, but also raised many Jammu-specific issues attacking BJP and PDP and accusing the ruling coalition of betraying the trust of the people of Jammu region. So much so, the Congress leaders from Jammu demanded a regional council for Jammu, saying the people of Jammu region needed an instrument that empowers them to manage some of their own affairs themselves in a meaningful manner and end the 68-year-old Kashmiri domination. Their main target was BJP.
However, it was on Saturday, the first day of the seven-day assembly session, that the Congress moved two adjournment motions, seeking suspension of scheduled proceedings on Monday for a discussion over relief package to flood victims and doing away with recently imposed service tax on helicopter services in J&K. The adjournment motion seeking discussion on the Jaziya tax was moved by Congress MLA from Inderwal Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, along with Aijaz Ahmad Khan, Usmaan Majid, Choudhary Akram, Mohammad Amin Bhat, Haji Abdul Rashid, Mumtaz Khan and Ghulam Ahmad. It said it wanted suspension of the assembly business on Monday (October 5) and discussion on 12.5 per cent services tax imposed by Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu on the helicopter services of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi ji, Amarnath ji, Machail Mata ji and other such holy shrines of Hindus.
The adjournment motion moved by the Congress law-makers, all Muslims, was nothing but a big slap on the face of BJP leadership in general and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh in particular. When condemned, the BJP leadership had said the PDP Finance Minister imposed Jaziya tax on chopper services to the Hindu religious places without consulting the party ministers and reassured the outraged Hindu community that the same would be withdrawn. Nirmal Singh too had reassured that Jaziya tax would be withdrawn - a claim which was contested by the Finance Minister. The Finance Minister declared that he would not withdraw the Jaziya tax and the entire BJP leadership kept its mouth shut.
It would be interesting to see if the Speaker of the assembly, Kavinder Gupta, who won the Gandhi Nagar assembly seat on BJP ticket, will admit the Congress-moved adjournment motion. At the same time, however, it is difficult to say if he would allow discussion on the motion on the Jazya tax. After all, he belongs to the BJP, which has been playing foul with the people of Jammu region since day one in a most brazen manner to keep its masters in the Valley in good humour. The general view in Jammu region is that the BJP would again "ditch" the people in its desperate bid to further appease Kashmir and its people. |
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