Pinarayi Vijayan alleges Finance Bill passed in violation of Assembly rules to benefit private liquor firms
Kerala Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday accused the United Democratic Front (UDF) government of disregarding Assembly conventions to pass the Finance Bill
Kerala Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday accused the United Democratic Front (UDF) government of disregarding Assembly conventions to pass the Finance Bill “so as to benefit private liquor companies”. He accused Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan of showing “unnecessary haste and stubbornness to provide tax cuts” to liquor companies. “The Finance Bill was not part of the schedule for the Revised Budget session. The government had said at that point of time that no new tax proposals were under consideration. This was reiterated in the Business Advisory Committee as well. But, after the Budget presentation, the Finance Bill was surreptitiously inserted into the agenda to validate a tax concession for liquor companies. The Opposition had taken a decision to cooperate in the Assembly proceedings as much as possible, but we had to witness several attempts to mislead the House,” said Mr.Vijayan. He said that behind the decision to pass the Bill at the last minute was “the hidden agenda” to amend the Kerala General Sales Tax (KGST) rules to help certain liquor companies.
“Finance Bills with such tax proposals are usually passed only after vetting by the Subject Committee. However, this convention was also violated. The Chief Minister tried to justify this by claiming that the LDF government also passed a Finance Bill during its final Budget session, but that Bill did not have any new tax proposals,” he said. “The Chief Minister had earlier said in the Assembly that although the tax cuts were mentioned in the Budget, a final decision will be taken only after discussions within the UDF. What is the relevance of further discussions now that the Finance Bill is passed? The Chief Minister took this decision despite opposition from within the front as well as various socio-religious organisations,” he said. On Adani-MSC Vizhinjam deal Regarding the proposal by the Adani Group to divest its 49% stake in Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL), the concessionaire and operating company of the Vizhinjam International Seaport, by handing over the stake to Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Group, Mr. Vijayan said that such a deal without the prior permission of the government was “illegal.” “As per the agreement, the concessionaire has to seek prior permission of the government if there is exchange of more than 25% of shares.
This move is being presented as a major foreign investment, but it is only aimed at making profits for the Adani Group. As per the application submitted by the Adani Group to Securities and Exchange Board of India, it has already entered into a share purchase agreement with MSC on June 29. How is the company able to claim this regarding an agreement for which the government’s prior clearance was required? The Chief Minister, who also holds the Ports portfolio, needs to bring more clarity on this,” said Mr. Vijayan. He alleged that the move was against Kerala’s interests “as it paves way for MSC’s monopoly” in Vizhinjam, which could affect the port’s cooperation with other major shipping companies too. “The government should not cave in under the pressure tactics of the Adani Group,” he said. Vijayan also accused the State government of attempting to hand over black sand mining to the private sector.
The BriefWire