Congress-BJP collusion in Haryana, says Punjab CM

Panipat, Sep 1 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Sunday that the Opposition Congress and the ruling BJP in election-bound Haryana have collusion, leaving the public to suffer.

"A new story needs to be written in Haryana like in Delhi and Punjab," Mann said while addressing traders here.

State Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Vice-President Anurag Dhanda said the purpose of the interaction was to demonstrate the party's approach to creating a favourable environment for traders and its plans for Haryana.

“Two-and-a-half years ago, industries were leaving Punjab due to inadequate conditions. However, in just two-and-a-half years, the environment has improved significantly, attracting new industries and traders eager to invest in Punjab."

He stressed that the key question is whether the government genuinely wants traders to operate freely.

"When the AAP came to power in Delhi, traders faced numerous obstacles. The party's promise to eliminate Inspector Raj led to a significant increase in revenue by Rs 2,000 crore after removing trade inspections."

Dhanda criticised the present government in Haryana for imposing heavy toll taxes on traders, who face increased costs and inadequate facilities.

During the event, traders asked Mann questions, shared their problems, and gave suggestions.

Traders inquired about simplifying the non-objection certificate (NOC) process in Punjab, addressing high electricity rates and frequent power cuts in Haryana affecting the industry, standardising GST tax slabs for textiles, and simplifying the GST portal.

They also asked what measures are being taken in Punjab to support small and medium enterprises and raised concerns about high-level corruption in Haryana affecting single-window systems and various business services.

Chief Minister Mann said this was not a political rally.

"The issues faced by traders are not unique to Haryana; similar problems were previously seen in Punjab and Delhi and are now present in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as well. The industry is considered the government's biggest revenue source but is often criticised and labelled unfairly. Despite providing employment to many, the industry is rarely given proper attention."

He mentioned that he wondered why traders bring red bags with money to political parties during elections.

"The money symbolises prosperity, but traders don't like the parties' agendas. They bring the money merely to avoid harassment if the party wins. Governments should not harass but should facilitate. When he invited Punjab's traders, they revealed so many problems that despite the existence of a single-window system, there are multiple windows within it," Mann added.

Consequently, Punjab implemented a single-window single-pen system, aiming for work to start and end with the same pen number. Policies were formulated based on traders' suggestions, he said.

He noted the AAP provides free electricity in Delhi and Punjab, not distinguishing between different types of cards.

Haryana will go to the polls for a 90-member Assembly on October 5.

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