Kerala Congress Demands Withdrawal Of New Taxation Proposals From State Budget

Kerala Congress workers have been protesting against the state budget in Kochi for the past two days

Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan.

After Kerala Congress workers protested for two days in Kochi against the state budget presented by Pinarayi Vijayan-led government, both BJP and Congress in Kerala protested and demanded the withdrawal of taxation proposals from the Budget presented.

Boycotting the Assembly proceedings, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan said the Congress-UDF could not accept the adamant stand of the government that no tax proposals which burden the life of common people, would be withdrawn.

"Opposition in Kerala Assembly demanded the withdrawal of taxation proposals. The State govt is trying to cover up fiscal mismanagement. In the budget, stimulus should have been given to different sectors," Satheesan said as quoted by news agency ANI.

Thiruvananthapuram | Opposition in Kerala Assembly demanded the withdrawal of taxation proposals. The State govt is trying to cover up fiscal mismanagement. In the budget, stimulus should have been given to different sectors: VD Satheesan, LoP, Kerala Assembly pic.twitter.com/MyzAVEApv5

— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2023

Meanwhile, BJP workers protested against the Kerala state budget in Kochi. To disburse the crowd, police used water cannons. Earlier on Wednesday, the government in Kerala refused to roll back the budget proposal levying cess on the sale of petrol, diesel, and liquor despite intense protests staged by Opposition Congress-led UDF inside and outside the Assembly pressing for the demand.

The UDF legislators boycotted further proceedings of the House for the day and marched out raising slogans against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government as soon as Finance Minister KN Balagopal indicated that there won't be any change in the budget proposals.

In his lengthy reply during a debate on the budget in the House, he justified the social security cess by saying it is inevitable to ensure the uninterrupted distribution of monthly social security pension to 62 lakh beneficiaries in the State.

The money, collected as cess, would be going to a special seed fund for the purpose and it could only meet less than 10 per cent of the total amount required for the monthly pension, he told the House.

"It is not a big tax burden to the people. It is required to provide pensions to 62 lakh people and to ensure the security of their families. Are you (The opposition) saying that we should stop the pension scheme? " Balagopal said.

He justified the cess on liquor sale and its tax has not been hiked in the past two years. Stating that the State could not go forward without revising the tax rates, he urged the Opposition to cooperate with the government measures for the overall well-being of the people.

He took a dig at the ongoing agitations staged by the UDF in and outside the House and said the protest was based on media reports that the cess would be slashed by one rupee.

(With PTI inputs)