Jammu, Jul 16: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Wednesday held a protest demonstration at Malpur near Akhnoor against the proposed toll plaza on Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch highway.
Led by senior leader and former MLA Thakur Balwan Singh, Congress activists raised slogans against the BJP led central government for imposing huge taxes on the common people in Jammu region.
Ex MLA Balbir Singh; JKPCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma; senior party leader Neeraj Gupta and block presidents Jang Bahadur Sharma and Chowdhary Babu Khan also joined the protest.
They demanded rollback of the decision to install a toll plaza at the site which, they alleged, “was against the norms and the interests of the common people.”
Speaking on the occasion, Balwan Singh and others alleged that BJP government at the Centre was fleecing the people of Jammu region by installing toll plazas at number of places against the norms and the guidelines laid down by the High Courts and the Supreme Court in this regard, as the highway was under construction at number of places between Akhnoor-Sunderbani-Rajouri and Poonch.
They charged the BJP with “looting the people of Jammu region by imposing toll tax at a number of places and charging toll even on the incomplete road projects.”
Balwan Singh questioned the BJP, its MPs and 28 MLAs for maintaining criminal silence over the plight of the people of Jammu after taking huge mandate on false promises to the people. He asked the people to make them accountable and answerable. He announced that the party would continue to raise a strong voice against such moves of the BJP government.
He also asked the people to join the Congress struggle for statehood for their own identity, status and protection of rights of their future generations.
Chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma lashed out at the BJP government for, what he alleged, “looting the people in the garb of toll and other taxes against the norms. He opposed the installation of the toll plaza at the site as three tunnels up to Sunderbani were incomplete and the road was in dilapidated condition at a number of places.
