GUWAHATI, July 16 - Voluntary organisation Assam Public Works (APW) today flayed the State government for its alleged �anti-people act� of imposing VAT at an enhanced rate on 127 items, stating that this would shoot up the prices of essential items and would thus make life miserable for the common people.
In a statement here, the voluntary organisation has demanded immediate revocation of the above decision.
It has argued that the decision of the State government to enhance VAT on petrol, diesel, cooking gas and other essential items is sure to shoot up the prices of the essential items, contrary to the claims of the State�s Finance Minister that the decision would have no adverse impact on the common people.
But, the fact remains that the traders would realise the enhanced VAT charged by the government from the common people. The common people will also have to pay the cable TV operators at the enhanced rate following this decision of the State government.
Describing the argument of the State�s Finance Minister that enhancement of VAT was necessitated to pay the State government employees at par with the Central government employees as appalling, APW argued that to pay enhanced salaries to its employees, the State government cannot impose the burden of additional tax on the common people.
It has also ridiculed the eagerness of the BJP to induct into its fold all those bureaucrats, contractors and Congressmen whom it had earlier despised as corrupt people.
The BJP has now given an impression that with their induction into the BJP fold those involved in the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council scams and scams in other departments of the State, have been cleansed of all their sins. This has exposed the hollowness of the BJP�s tirade against corruption, added the voluntary organisation.
It has also expressed sorrow over the death of a youth at Raha yesterday in police firing on a group of agitators, who were demanding setting up of an All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) at Raha.
The APW also warned that it would shortly move the court against the alleged corruption indulged in by the former AMTRON director Dinesh Pegu.
