While
addressing mediapersons at her official residence at 5, KD
Marg on Monday, Mayawati said certain anti-government elements
were indulging in false propaganda that VAT was responsible
for price hike in the state.
“On
the contrary, tax rates have gone down after VAT was imposed.
Development tax too has been scrapped. Within a month of VAT
being implemented, the tax revenue registered 6.7 per cent
increase as compared to previous years,” she said. “Tax
rates have increased nominally for 49 items. This will hardly
affect the common man,” she added. Mayawati also blamed her
predecessor Mulayam Singh Yadav for not implementing VAT
earlier in the state. “Due to vested interests, the previous
government did not implement VAT and the state lagged behind
in contributing to the nation’s economy,” she said.
While
criticising the Centre for increasing petrol/diesel prices,
Mayawati said that her government had brought down the prices
of all agriculture-related articles like tractors, trolleys,
pump sets, sprinklers, threshers, seeds fertilisers and
pesticides. “Even diesel prices have been brought down by 23
paise,” she said. However, admitting that the rates of
essential items like wheat, flour, vegetable oil, spices,
infant food, mustard oil, medicines, etc have increased,
Mayawati said the state government has either decreased the
prices of such commodities or has kept them unchanged under
VAT.
Maya
on Sarabjit and Tibet issues
Chief
Minister Mayawati advised the UPA government to intervene in
the Sarabjeet Singh case and also in sorting out the
Tibet/China tussle. “The Centre should talk to China to sort
out the problem in Tibet through negotiations. They should
also make efforts to get Sarabjeet Singh — who is facing
death sentence — freed from Pakistan jail.”
