Mulayam reiterates oppn to VAT: slams foreign Co

Lucknow, Apr 28: Reiterating his opposition to the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) regime in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today said his government would not allow foreign companies to open retail outlets until they fulfilled certain conditions, for safeguarding interests of the states' traders.

Addressing a traders rally here, Mr Yadav, announcing several sops for the community, said that till the traders voluntarily accept VAT, his government would not enforce such regime.

''I feel no government can stop entry of foreign companies in the country. But at least some conditions should be imposed on them so as to ensure that interests of the traders are not affected by their entry,'' he said.

Criticising the Centre for being ''non-supportive'' of the development in Uttar Pradesh under the SP's rule he said the UPA government was targetting big industrial houses who have supported the state's development.

''Raids on Sahara and Anil Ambani led Reliance groups were only some of the instances of the high-handedness by the Centre,'' he alleged.

Calling upon the trader community to support the SP in the 2007 assembly polls, Mr Yadav said recent victory of SP candidates in the bypolls was only due to the support of traders.

He made it clear that talent drain was a big problem for the country and urged the Centre to take concrete steps to check it.

He accepted 10 out of the 14 demands presented by the traders which included monthly compouding fee on cable operators, government order on Tehbazari, simplification of the commercial house tax within a month, insurance cover to all traders and interest rate of Mandi Samiti to be fixed at 12 per cent.

UNI