Sonepat, Apr 13: Haryana Krishak Samaj, the farmers' body in the state, has called the INLD government headed by Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala as "anti-farmer, anti-trader and anti-shopkeeper" and alleged that the implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) in Haryana was a "revengeful act" on Chautala's part against the trading community. Talking to mediapersons here today, samaj president Samsher Singh Surjewala said the implementation of VAT regime had been deferred by several other states whereas it has been enforced with effect from April 1in Haryana. This, he added, has caused "widespread resentment" among the traders and shopkeepers as it would lead to unnecessary harassment of traders and consumers and also establish the "inspector raj" besides encouraging corruption. Surjewala also said that the VAT would add to the burden on the common man as 80 items of mass consumption were exempted earlier from the sales tax but these items had now been reduce to 30. He also criticised the state government for its alleged failure to supply power and canal water in the agriculture sector and said that the tail-end fields of the farmers always remained dry even during the rotation period for a week in 42 days.
Bureau Report