TURA: A statement by the National People’s Party (NPP) staking claim for the reduction in GST for broomsticks has not gone down well with its central ally, BJP.
NPP claimed that the GST on broomsticks, a major exporting product from the state, was dropped to zero only after its party president and Tura Lok Sabha MP Conrad K Sangma intervened on behalf of the farmers in the state.
“To claim to be the only one to raise the issue would be incorrect. Whom did the NPP MP vote for in Parliament? Wasn’t the GST vote unanimous? You can’t have double standards when elections come,” stated national spokesperson Nalin Kohli to The Shillong Times on the claims and counter claims doing the rounds on the humble broom.
He mentioned that BJP MPs and MLAs in other states where broomsticks are a major export commodity had also raised the demand for a drop in GST for the produce.
According to the BJP leader, this is not the first time the NPP has courted controversy. On Good Governance Day, last year, the NPP chief had dashed a letter to Prime Minister Modi seeking a change in date since it fell on Christmas.
“At that time too, Conrad wasn’t the only one who raised the issue. Even our state president Shibun Lyngdoh along with other leaders had brought the issue to our notice. Since then adjustments to the dates have been done,” said Kohli.
The party has reiterated that it will contest all 60 seats in the upcoming elections in Meghalaya and the Congress would be its main adversary.
On the possibility of the NPP stealing a march on the BJP in the coming elections, BJP leader dismissed it as mere hype.
“Since the wind is in our sails, NPP is also trying to create some wind for its sails worried about the amount of wind we have in our sails,” remarked Kohli.
