VP demands lowering of state tax on petro products in UP

Lucknow, Sep 28 (UNI) Former Prime Minister V P Singh-led Pragatisheel Jan Morcha Gathbandhan today demanded cutting to half the present state tax on diesel and petrol in Uttar Pradesh.

The former PM and other leaders of his new alliance sat on a dharna at the Gandhi Park here and handed over a memorandum to the governor.

The memorandum claimed while several states in the recent past had cut state tax on petro products, the Mulayam Singh Yadav government had not heeded the demands of farmers and the common man.

''If UP halves the state tax on petro products, it would immensely help farmers and the common man. At present, UP has imposed a 22 per cent state tax on diesel and 26 per cent on petrol,'' the memorandum claimed.

Mr Singh told his supporters the state government was against the interests of farmers. ''It is the industrialists for which they care...farmers and the common man come last in the government's list of priorities,'' he alleged.

The memorandum has asked governor T V Rajeswar to make UP cut state tax on petroleum products. ''We also request you to probe the various incidents of police high handedness on farmers who have raised genuine and basic demands in various parts of the state.

Mr Singh's organisation had last week launched 'Mukti Sangram Yatra' from Deoria in east UP to Dadri, bordering the National Capital to make farmers aware of their rights.

The Jan Morcha has been criticising the state government for selling cultivable land at Dadri at throwaway prices to enable Anil Ambani's Reliance Energy Ltd (REL)to set up a mega gas-based power project.

While the state government has constantly denied the allegations, Mr Singh has claimed that 2,800 acres of land was provided to REL to enable the businessman to create a real estate.

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