Congress leaders engage in scuffle with Police during protest against Property Tax

JAMMU, March 02 : Congress leaders and workers had a minor scuffle with police when they held a strong protest against the imposition of property tax, seeking its immediate withdrawal and controlling price rise, in Jammu today.

 Led by JKPCC Chief Shri Vikar Rasool Wani and accompanied by Working President Raman Bhalla, Yogesh Sawhney, Ravinder Sharmna, Balwan Singh, Balbir Singh, T.S. Bajwa, Shabir Ahmed Khan, Th. Hari Singh, Pankaj Dogra, Rajesh Sadotra, Sanjeev Sharma, Pawan Raina, Shashi Sharma, Thomas Khokhar, Gurdarshan Singh, Dwarka Choudhary & Ritu Choudhary(Corporators), Rakesh Wazir, Suresh Dogra, Rajinder Singh Nathu, Narinder Gupta, Kapil Singh, Satish Sharma, Sanjeev Panda Narinder Sharma, Suresh Dogra, Sahil Sharma, Rajinder Singh Nathu, Naresh Sharma,  Pawan Dev Singh, Bhushan Dogra, Subash Bhagat, Nasir Masih, Michael Wazir, Shina Needa, Jatin Raina, Hoshiar Singh, Bhupinder Singh Manhas, Ram Parkash Magotra, Vijay Sharma, Ram Magotra, Gurmeet Singh.

Chander Shekhar, Atul Sharma, Rahul Tandon, Nageshwar Narayan, Anil Kumar Anoop Ravi Kumar were the prominent who held out a strong protest demonstration at Shahidi Chowk, by the Congress activists raising slogans against the BJP led Centre Govt. and LG Administration over the issue of imposition of property tax and the hike in prices of LP Gas.

A large number of activists and workers and frontal wings held a strong protest raising slogans against the BJP and Govt. for adopting anti-people policies. They raised slogans seeking withdrawal of the property tax and to lower the prices of LPG besides controlling prices of the essential commodities of common use.

The protestors marched towards the Residency Road when they were stopped by a heavy contingent of police. The congress leaders and workers had a minor scuffle with the policemen, however the congress leaders, stopped the workers from forcibly proceeding ahead and held a sit in dharna.

Addressing the gathering PCC President Mr. Vikar Rasool Wani lashed out at the BJP led Centre Govt. and the LG Administration for  imposition of property tax and other sorts of taxes besides arbitrary and anti people decisions from time to time.

Mr. Wani said that the people of J&K are already over burdened and are in the great economic and political distress for several years coupled with militancy. The people of J&K are suffering on account of militancy, for more than three decades apart from political uncertainty for over nine years. The unprecedented price hike, the large scale unemployment, Covid and abnormal security situation due to targeted killings of innocents especially minorities, has destabilized the economy of J&K. The Govt. is unable to hold elections to the state assembly and fails to restore statehood which is most popular demand of all in J&K but BJP Govt. at the Centre and UT Administration  want to crush the people of J&K economically, by such actions.

Already people are unable to make both ends meet but the Govt. has taken an arbitrary decision of property tax. He said that party shall intensify protest over these issues  in the days to come and demands roll back of the policy and withdrawal of property tax.

Shri Raman Bhalla, terming the tall promises of the BJP as hoax and big joke with the people, especially the poor, marginalized and the youth,he said there has been very little on the ground. “It is not only the jobs; the BJP had shown day dreams about doubling the income of farmers and providing housing to all by 2022 but these turned out as Jumlas and nothing beyond that”, said Bhalla. If anything has happened, it to levy taxes even on the essentials like rice and curd, he said while slamming the BJP for befooling the poor housewives by creating hype over free LPG connections to those of them belonging to below poverty line, notwithstanding the fact they can’t afford to fill the cylinders which have crossed almost Rs 1100 per cylinder.

Ravinder Sharma and  Shri Yogesh Sawhney also briefed the media persons about the anti-people  policies and orders especially anti-poor programmes of Modi Govt and LG Administration and demanded immediate withdrawal of property tax..