Mangalore: Property tax hike - Poojary blames DC, promises to revoke it after elections
Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SHS)
Mangalore, Mar 17: Even as the Congress party broke its promise on property tax by hiking it by 15 percent, former union minister and Congress Lok Sabha candidate Janardhan Poojary insisted that Congress MLAs had been 'misled' into signing the documents related to the tax hike and put the blame squarely on deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim.
Coming down heavily on the deputy commissioner, Poojary claimed that the move was a 'deliberate attempt' to tarnish the reputation of the Congress and of himself ahead of the LS elections. He also promised that after the elections, the Congress would withdraw the decision and stick to the assurance made in the local election manifesto.
Addressing a press meet at Congress office said that the corporators including the new mayor and the deputy mayor have sent a signed letter to the deputy commissioner questioning the timing of the notification of hike, which he said was a violation of the model code of conduct.
"Even though the decision was taken on February 22, the MCC issued a notification through advertisement in newspapers on March 6, hence it is a violation of the election code. Corporators have expressed their discontent over the hurried passage of the order before the urban local body elections," he said.
Answering questions by the press persons, he said that J R Lobo and Mohiuddin Bava had committed a mistake but they were apparently "misled by the DC into signing the documents related to the tax hike".
"Moreover, J R Lobo who had earlier served as a bureaucrat seems to have not yet come out of that stage, and this could have made him sign the order. I have spoken to both (Lobo and Bava) and they have admitted their mistake and said they will stick to the promise made in the manifesto," he asserted.
Hinting at an internal rift in the Congress, he alleged that A B Ibrahim had 'buckled under pressure' and deliberately acted upon the hike order to damage the reputation of Janardhan Poojary. However, when asked who could have put pressure on the DC, he evaded the question.
When asked if a person is required to pay the increased tax, he answered, "In case a person pays the tax now as per the hike, after general elections the decision would be reconsidered and the surplus sum would be refunded to the tax payer."
"In case the DC writes any letter to the state government with regard to the tax hike after it is quashed, I will stage a fight against the government to protect the interests of the people of the city who gave a mandate to Congress party, thinking that party would fulfil the assurances outlined in the manifesto," he asserted.
To a question regarding his earlier statement that he would file a complaint against the RSS with the Election Commissioner for propagating falsehoods against him during BJP's election campaign, Poojary said, "I have not filed any case, instead I told people to record their leaders' ill-meaning statements in mobile phones."
Mayor Mahabala Maarla speaking to press persons said he has sent a letter to the DC, the MCC commissioner, seeking reply to the deliberate decision on property tax hike which he said violated the model code of conduct. He has also sent a letter to Election Commission in this regard, he added.