NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Moving on the back foot, the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday requested Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar to immediately withdraw the November 30 trade circular issued by the commissioner of commercial taxes, appealing to the state traders and businessmen to ensure that cashless transactions are made available at their respective place of business, within ten days from the date of issue of the circular.
A delegation of the state BJP leaders met Parsekar, who also holds the finance portfolio, and made this demand. It also brought to his notice that people in the state are already facing hardships due to the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
Coming out with this information, state spokesperson of the party Damodar ‘Damu’ Naik, told the media persons during a press conference that the government officers should be held responsible for misinterpreting the particular circular and pressurising the local traders, including micro-vendors, to go cashless within ten days. “In fact, displaying over-enthusiasm on their part, these government officials have created panic among the local traders,” he added, pointing out that the ward officers of the department of commercial taxes are moving around the state and intimidating the traders to prepare themselves for cashless regime, within ten days.
Speaking further, Naik said that ushering cashless regime in Goa could take between three months and one year, and should not be forced upon the people by setting a deadline, especially as Goa is a tourist state. He also stressed that the state BJP has not made the particular demand either because the matter is now before the Goa Human Rights Commission or as the state assembly election is round the corner.
State general secretary of BJP Sadanand Tanavde, addressing the press conference stated that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, supporting the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in promoting cashless transactions, had declared December 30, 2016, as the deadline for starting a cashless society in Goa, in the larger interest of the state. He also rejected the allegations that Parrikar was unduly interfering in the state financial matters.
It may be recalled that Parrikar had chaired a meeting on November 26 with top state bureaucrats and bankers – in the absence of the Chief Minister – where he had asked them to examine the modalities of making Goa country’s first cashless state by December 30.
Tanavde further refuted the charges that the state BJP unit is using all its pre-assembly election activities like ‘Vijay Sankalp’ rallies and booth empowerment abhiyan to legalise its black money.
Incidentally, all these activities planned by the Goa BJP unit are ending on December 30, 2016, the day when the deadline set by the central government for depositing invalid Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes ends.
Tanavde also informed that the local BJP unit has already gone cashless and all its transactions, including the expenditure for the ‘Vijay Sankalp’ rallies are carried out through cheques. He further described the ‘padyatras’ organised by the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, to mobilise people and elicit political support ahead of the state assembly elections, as a “flop show,” stating that only a handful of people are participating in these ‘padayatras.’