New Delhi, Oct 4 (PTI) The BJP on Friday slammed the Congress over reports of its government in Himachal Pradesh imposing toilet seat tax in the urban areas, a claim denied by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
According to media reports, the state government has imposed a monthly fee of Rs 25 for every toilet seat in homes located in the urban areas. This amount will be added to the existing sewerage bill and transferred to the account of the Jal Shakti Department, which manages water and sanitation services in the state.
Reacting to the reports, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a post on X said, “Unbelievable, if true.” “Whilst PM Narendra Modiji, builds Swachhata (cleanliness) as a people’s movement, here is the Congress taxing people for toilets,” the senior BJP leader said, adding, “Shame that they didn’t provide good sanitation during their time, but this step will shame the country.” Lashing out at the Congress, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asked the party why its government in Himachal Pradesh is “punishing” the people who voted them to power in the state.
“This shows that Congress has neither worked for the welfare of the people nor it will do so. All it cares to gain power and enjoy it, and promote Gandhi family. This is their ‘mool mantra’ (core agenda),” he told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here when asked for comment.
Amid row over the media reports, the Himachal Pradesh chief minister categorically denied any imposition or proposal of so-called ‘Toilet Tax’ in the state and termed the claims of the BJP leaders as baseless.
“In the light of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha elections, the BJP is either playing the religion card or sometimes raising the fabricated toilet tax issue. No one should attempt to politicise issues purely for political gains, especially when the allegations are far from reality,” Sukhu said in a statement.
Meanwhile, talking to mediapersons in Shimla, Additional Chief Secretary Onkar Sharma said that the notification imposing Rs 25 tax per sewerage seat in the urban areas was taken back on September 21.
The BJP spokesperson further alleged that the Congress came to power in Himachal Pradesh by making lofty promises to people during the assembly polls and ruined the state’s financial position.
“Today, the state’s financial position is so bad that it doesn’t have money to pay the salary of its employees. Himachal Pradesh is reeling under debt of Rs 87,000 crore which will increase to Rs one lakh crore by the next fiscal,” he claimed.
The Congress “never fulfills” the promises that it made to people during the elections, be it Karnataka, Telangana or Himachal Pradesh, he said.
“Congress is a ‘wada tod party’ (a party which breaks the promises it makes),” the BJP spokesperson said, adding, “Rahul Gandhi comes and brings along with him corruption, inflation and false promises.” PTI PK AS AS
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