Shiromani Akali Dal ridicules Congress on wealth tax

CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today ridiculed the "contradictory statements" of Congress on the proposed imposition of wealth tax on agriculture land within 8 kms from the outer limits of municipal bodies.

On one hand PCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa says it (the proposed tax) is only a draft proposal and on the other hand, former chief minister Amarinder Singh is demanding its withdrawal, a SAD spokesman said here.

In a statement released by the party, SAD secretary and spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said first of all Congress should gracefully accept the blunder it committed.

The decision to impose wealth tax on the debt ridden peasantry amounts to signing the 'death warrant' of the country's farmers, the statement said adding, people are astonished to see different postures adopted by two senior Congress leaders on a very sensitive issue concerning the future of farmers.

They are aimlessly busy countering the just and genuine statements of SAD leaders, it said.

Cheema reminded both Congress leaders that Punjab is the worst sufferer of wealth tax as it is the only state, which has maximum area under municipal limits.

More than 70 per cent of the state's total agricultural land is within 8 kms from the outer limits of municipal bodies, he said.