As the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre on Friday decided to provide special financial assistance to all religious bodies that serve free langar to devotees and the needy, the Shiromani Akali Dal has been patting its own back claiming credit for the same.
Right from the Punjab Governor VP Singh Bandore, to Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), to SAD and the BJP, all are hailing the BJP Government’s decision to waive off the good and services tax (GST) on the items used for preparing langar.
The issue assumes significance in the state both the opposition and the ruling parties have been targeting each other on the issue of waving of the GST on langar the Golden Temple. While the Congress has challenged the SAD-BJP to seek waiver from his own government at the Centre, the opposition has been accusing the Congress Government for taking up the case effectively.
SAD, especially its face in the Union Cabinet Harsimrat Kaur Badal, has been under lot of pressure after the Congress-led Punjab Government had recently waived of state’s share of GST on items purchased for langar at the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir, among couple of other religious places.
Its leaders have been making a beeline to meet the Union Ministers and senior party leaders to get the Centre’s share of GST waived off on the same.
As the notification to this effect was issued by the Union Ministry of Culture, the information was first shared by the Union Minister and SAD MP from Bathinda Harsimrat on her official Facebook page maintaining that every paisa collected through GST on langar will be returned by the Centre, and anyone serving free food to humanity will not be taxed.
later, the party organized a press conference in the national capital, followed by thanksgiving statements to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Amit Shah, Union Minister Arun Jaitley, among others.
“We have no words to thank the bold, decisive and magnanimous Prime Minister for this unprecedented, historic and never-before decision since independence,” said the SAD president Sukhbir Badal and his Union Minister wife Harsimrat while thanking the trio for granting “exemption on GST on purchases for langar in Gurdwaras and other religious shrines in the country”, saying that the decision will also benefit Durgiana Temple and other temples and shrines of every religion.
At the same time, the two leaders regretted that Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal “miserably failed” to raise this just and legitimate demand at the GST Council which is the final deciding authority and of which he is member.
“He never even performed his basic duty to put this issue as an item on the GST Council. In fact, he threw his arms up, saying that he simply could not do anything about the issue,” said Sukhbir,
To give effect to the government’s decision to exempt purchases for langar from GST, a new scheme ‘Seva Bhoj Yojna’ has been launched under which, the “CGST and the centre’s share of GST, paid on purchase of specific items by religious shrines or charitable institutions for distributing free food, would
be reimbursed to the concerned bodies”.
The decision will cover Harmandar Sahib, and all five takhats (temporal seats), in addition to all Gurdwaras, including those managed by the SGPC, the DSGMC, as well as all other shrines regardless of their religion. The exemption will apply to all “all registered charitable bodies, societies and which have been in existence and active in free langar for the past five years or more. Meanwhile, Punjab BJP unit also welcomed the decision as “historic one”. Union Minister Vijay Sampla, BJP national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna, former minister Manoranjan Kalia, former national secretary Harjit Grewal and former state secretary Vineet Joshi, in a joint statement, said that Sewa Bhoj Yojna will go a long way on inspiring religious bodies serving free langar to work more for the service of mankind.
PUNJAB GOV HAIlS THE GST WAIVER
Welcoming the Union Government’s decision to waive off GST on langars served in Gurudwaras, Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore thanked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having announced this decision in the larger interest of the Punjabis.
“Punjabis, in general, are indebted to the Prime Minister for taking such a commendable decision exempting all the religious institutions serving ‘langar’ from the central Goods and Services Tax (GST),” he said.
He said that the food bill of the Golden Temple alone is around Rs 75 core per year as daily about 70,000 to 80,000 people visit the holy shrine and on weekends this number increases to 1.25 lakh to 1.50 lakh per day.
SGPC WElCOMES DECISION, APPRECIATED SAD’S EFFORTS
Welcoming the Central Government’s move to waive off GST on langar items, the SGPC appreciated the efforts made by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in this direction.
SGPC president Gobind Singh longowal said that the committee and SAD had made persistent efforts for the waiver of GST on langar items, and the waiver “is a result of these efforts”. “The waiver will make the gurdwaras free from the financial burden and the amount, which was paid as GST, will be spent on social welfare,” said longowal while offering special thanks to SAD leaders, including former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, president Sukhbir Badal and Union Minister Harsimrat Badal for taking up the issue with the authorities concerned.
It has been learnt that the SGPC had paid around Rs 3.2 crore as GST on the purchase of items for the Golden Temple langar — the largest community kitchen in the world.