Tuesday, April 8, 2014

CHAMLING MEETS OLD SETTLERS -Sagar Chettri.

“Choose responsibly between development and uncertainty, peace and hostility”
SDF GOVT HAS SUBMITTED TO APEX COURT THAT IT HAS NO OBJECTION TO INCOME TAX EXEMPTION BEING EXTENDED TO OLD SETTLERS, CHAMLING INFORMS



GANGTOK, 07 Apr: Sikkim Democratic Front party president Pawan Chamling met with members of the business community here this evening. The well-attended meeting attracted attendance from members of the business community and old settlers from as far as Singtam.
In his address, Mr. Chamling informed the get-together that his government had already submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court recording that it had no objections to Income Tax exemption being extended to the old settlers.
Income Tax exemption remains a touchy issue with old settlers who feel denied of their rights in being left out from the exemption extended to Sikkim Subjects and their descendents in Sikkim.
Providing a background to the SDF Government’s efforts at addressing the Income Tax issue, Mr. Chamling informed that the first option proposed by his government to the Centre was to extend IT exemption to all those who participated in the Referendum of 1975. The Centre, under whose jurisdiction the IT-issue falls, chose the option of extending exemption to Sikkim Subjects, he added.
His party and government have however been consistently pursuing the demand of extending exemption to the left-out communities as well.
In this regard, he appealed to the gathering to understand the powers and limitations of the State Government in such matters. The issue of Income Tax exemption needs to be resolved in a coordinated effort between the State and the Centre with the final call resting with the Centre, he underlined.
Such processes take time, but consistent pursuit by his government will definitely result in a positive resolution, Mr. Chamling said.
He announced that among the first orders of business for the SDF MP PD Rai upon his election will be to spearhead the demand for Income Tax exemption for the old settlers with Delhi.
SDF’s Lok Sabha candidate, PD Rai, in his address, announced that within two weeks of government formation, he will sit with a committee of old settlers on the Income Tax issue to chart out an action plan on how to proceed with the matter. He assured that the SDF was not prejudiced and was open to suggestions; stating that they would even take into consideration the efforts made by Prem Goyal in their pursuit of winning the exemption for old settlers.
Mr. Chamling, went on to point out that issues which the State Government could decide and implement were already being done to ensure equal treatment for the old settlers in Sikkim, he said.
“We have power in the Legislative Assembly and there we have passed resolutions twice seeking IT exemption for the old settlers. This proves our commitment to the issue,” Mr. Chamling said.
Powers in the state list like issuing of residential certificates [with more value], transfer of trade licences, apartment ownerships etc will be delivered early in the next term, he added.
As for the prevailing political environment, he remarked the instead of competing on plans and programmes and debating on ideology, the Opposition camp was dealing in propaganda and deceptions. He urged the people to remain vigilant against rumour and fear mongering.
He commented that should people approach the ongoing election campaign and the voting process with a stronger sense of belonging and a deeper sense of ownership, they will definitely choose development over uncertainty and peace over hostility.
He contended that SDF had secured respect and prestige for the business community and ended an era of extortion and intimidation which the business community of Sikkim was subjected to in the years before SDF came to government in 1994.
The SDF government of the past twenty years has also ensured a peaceful overall environment for Sikkim in which business has prospered and this will improve further if SDF is given continuance in office, he said.
He highlighted that elections shouldered greater responsibility on the people [than politicians] because during elections, the pressure was on the people to make the right choice. The people’s mandate decides the future not just for the next 5 years but also much longer since the impact of policy decisions is more resilient, he said.
He also reiterated the commitment to institute a business community welfare board with a cabinet-rank chairperson from among the community.
The meeting was also addressed by SDF’s Lok Sabha candidate PD Rai, Gangtok candidate Hissey Lachungpa and Arithang candidate Uday Lama.

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