The Akhilesh Yadav Government on Tuesday flatly refused to lower the Value Added Tax (VAT) rates in the state to control inflation and instead blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party Government at the Centre for the rising prices due to hike in rail fares, and diesel and sugar prices.
Replying to a question of BJP’s Shyam Deo Rai Chaudhary and others in the UP Assembly, state Handicapped Minister Ambika Chaudhary said that in comparison to several other adjoining states, VAT was less in UP.
He said that there had been no hike in VAT in the recent past and inflation was due to the hike in the prices of goods by the Centre. The minister said that out of 750 items on which VAT was being levied, the tax rate was less than in states like Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.
VAT is higher on 142 items in Delhi as compared to UP while in MP, 123 items have higher tax than UP. In UP, only 81 items have higher VAT rates than these two states, the minister pointed out.
Without taking any names, the minister said that the Centre was responsible for the price hike and even taunted that ‘good days were ahead’.Intervening in the matter, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohammad Azam Khan asked why the BJP Government at the Centre was implementing the policies of the United Progressive Alliance Government.
“Both the Congress and the BJP have ditched the people and now the BJP would face the same fate as the Congress in future,” he added. However, BJP leader Satish Mahana tried to defend the Centre saying the treasury bench and other political parties were peeved over their lok Sabha debacle and hence were levelling such charges against the BJP Government at the Centre. Other members also asked the state Government to lower VAT rates so that prices of essential commodities come down.