The Hindu : DMK betrayed the interests of people: Narayanasamy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 28, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Pondicherry

DMK betrayed the interests of people: Narayanasamy

By Our Staff Reporter

Pondicherry March 27. The PCC president, V. Narayanasamy today charged the erstwhile DMK Government with having bartered away the interests of the Union Territory in 1999 by accepting then the uniform floor rate of taxes for Pondicherry.

In a rejoinder to the convenor of the DMK, R. V. Janakiraman that the Congress Government had not initiated steps to protest the Value Added tax (VAT), the PCC leader said that one should recall that during his tenure as Chief Minister, Mr. Janakiraman had meekly accepted the uniform rate of taxes to `please' the DMK president, M. Karunanidhi the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Narayanasamy said that Mr. Janakiraman had also presented a detailed report at the State Finance Minsters conference in 1999 accepting the new tax. Mr. Janakiraman had said that he had no objection to the uniform sales tax being enforced in Pondicherry, provided the Centre grant the requisite amount as compensation for the loss arising out of the new taxes here. Such a commitment was made by Janakiraman when he was Chief Minister here through a written statement and thus it was only DMK and its then regime in Pondicherry that had betrayed the people.

When the Congress was earlier in power the then Chief Minister Vaithilingam had rejected the uniform tax. After the DMK accepted the new taxes any measure to counter it when Congress resumed office could not succeed.

Mr. Narayanasamy said that there were now three representatives of the DMK in the cabinet of the BJP led NDA dispensation at the Centre. It was the unanimous decision of the Centre that VAT should be adopted from April in all States. But the Union Territory of New Delhi and State governments of Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka had opposed it. If Janankiraman had the courage he should persuade the DMK Ministers at the Centre to prevent imposition of VAT on Pondicherry. If the plea of the DMK was not accepted the DMK should step out of the NDA .

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