The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said it won’t hesitate to pull out from the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir if the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is not rolled out in the state till July 1.
“We (BJP) have already conveyed to our alliance partner PDP that if the GST is not rolled out in Jammu and Kashmir till July 1, we won’t hesitant to take an extreme step in the national interest,” said deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, addressing a seminar ‘Jammu & Kashmir: present scenario and our responsibilities and duties’ here this evening.
“The government is determined to implement GST, but the opposition and some miscreants who opposed it have created confusion by linking it with the state’s unique identity,” Singh said.
GST is matter of governance and a major tax reform, he said.
“After getting a decisive mandate in 2014 assembly polls, BJP got a chance to form a government with Peoples Democratic Party despite huge ideological differences between the two,” he said, adding: “We make a governance alliance and kept our ideology aside, so we won’t compromise when it comes to governance.”
“Jammu and Kashmir is passing through a crucial phase. This time will be recorded in the history as a new dawn in the state wherein nationalist forces successfully wiped out Pakistan sympathizers, militants, separatists and miscreants,” he said.
He said the government of India last year tried to talk to separatists. “Home minister Rajnath Singh invited the Huryiat leaders for talks. A parliamentary delegation tried to meet then but the arrogant separatists shut their doors. After that, the state government conveyed to the Centre that they (separatists) are not interested in dialogue,” he said.
Singh said the government has launched a massive operation against separatists and militants in Kashmir.
“Previously even an income tax officer couldn’t raid in Kashmir but recently the NIA raided hubs of separatists over terror funding case, and those who claimed themselves above law had to rush to New Delhi to give explanations,” he said. Similarly, the government has launched a crackdown to make Kashmir militancy-free.
In last one month, 38 to 40 militants have been killed, which is a huge success for government, Singh said.
