Srinagar: Accusing the Jammu and Kashmir government of playing dirty politics over the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the state, the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) today alleged the sinister designs behind this ‘controversy’ were getting exposed with each passing day. “If the Government was honest in implementation of the GST, it should have come up with the amended version of the GST for the state of Jammu and Kashmir and put the same in public domain,” KTMF President Haji Muhammad Yasin Khan said here. “The reality is that to please some hidden masters, the Government has been issuing self contradictory statements as was visible today in the news reports that senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Beg has distanced himself from the all party committee on holding consultations for extending GST to the state,” Mr Khan, who is also the chief of Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), said. In an appeal to the business community of Jammu, Mr Khan said that this is the time to be united for the cause of the state and its special status. “Let’s not look at timely monetary benefits but towards the safeguard of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by virtue of Article 370,” he added. Mr Khan said the conspiracy behind the GST plot is evident from the fact that the Government, which hosted All India GST meet in Srinagar, was least concerned towards the interests of this state. He also said that as of now the trade community has been pushed to confusion on how to deal with outside state business parties, thereby resulting in loss of business which is already in struggling state. UNI
