Wednesday, 22 March 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
‘New excise policy to increase State revenue & check bootlegging’
The Bharatiya Janata Party has said that it will welcome constructive suggestions in the white paper which the Congress plans to bring out on the State government’s performance. The party also said that the Congress opposition to the proposal to name Dehradun airport after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is meaningless and against the sentiment behind creation of Uttarakhand.
The BJP State president Mahendra Bhatt said that the BJP will welcome any constructive suggestions made by the Congress. He said that the Congress lacks issues and has forgotten the manner of playing its role. The BJP is a party which presents a report on the works of its government every year to the public. The government has also done the works mentioned in the party’s election manifesto which is being appreciated by the public. Instead of pointing out gaps, the Congress should give constructive suggestions in its white paper because in the end it is the government which has to take action, said Bhatt. He further questioned the opposition of the Congress to the proposal for naming Dehradun airport after Vajpayee. Bhatt said that the proposal of the airport committee was a tribute of the State’s people to Vajpayee for his role in creation of Uttarakhand.
Regarding the new excise policy, he said that it was aimed at increasing State revenues and discouraging bootlegging. The State government is aiming to increase its revenue to strengthen its financial condition while also checking bootlegging resulting from differences in rates of alcohol in Uttarakhand and its neighbouring State. Referring to the anti-encroachment drive underway in the State, the BJP State president said, “It is our moral responsibility to remove encroachments from government lands. This situation would not have arised if the political parties which are leveling allegations today had prevented encroachments from taking place when they were in office. The government is implementing the court orders and after this too, all necessary assistance will be provided to those who come under the purview of Central and State governments’ housing and other schemes.”
