BJP targets Centre on Himachal,Uttarakhand excise duty

The UPA governments decision to discontinue the excise duty exemption for industries in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh has pitted the BJP...

The UPA governments decision to discontinue the excise duty exemption for industries in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh has pitted the BJP and the Centre against each other once again. For the BJP,which has been accusing the Centre of bias against NDA-ruled states,the issue has become yet another weapon to attack the ruling Congress.

On Wednesday,a high-level BJP delegation led by L K Advani,the Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament,Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj,with the CMs of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding revival of the special industrial package for the hill states introduced by the

Vajpayee government in 2002.

We did not ask for anything new but restoration of the package which was withdrawn… The two states have their unique set of problems. They are hill states which need assistance for development, Swaraj said. The area-based exemptions expired on March 31 after the Centre decided to bring GST from next year.

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The decision to discontinue it has raised the hackles of the BJP which argues that a similar package was introduced for the North-East in 1987 and was extended for another ten years in 2007. Jammu and Kashmir also enjoys similar benefits. The two CMs Prem Kumar Dhumal and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank have already threatened to launch an agitation if their demand is not met.

The BJP leaders submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister pointing out that the premature termination of the excise duty exemption component of the special incentives package has done great injustice to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The government was not correct in doing so as not only was the industrialisation of the states incomplete but the states had put into place appropriate polices, it said.

BJP against FDI in retail sector

NEW DELHI: The BJP,earlier in favour of allowing FDI in various sectors,virtually waived the red flag on the governments proposal to open up the retail sector to FDI. The party expressed its views a day after the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion released a discussion paper inviting comments from stakeholders on opening up multi-brand retail to foreign investment. MNCs with their predatory pricing policies and large cash reserve can crush our retailers, said BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman.