Srinagar:Peoples Democratic Party on Saturday staged a protest against imposition of property tax in J&K from April.
The PDP workers demanded immediate rollback of the government order.
The PDP workers started the protest from the party head office near Municipal Park Srinagar. The protesters were stopped by police from marching towards the city centre, witnesses said. The protesters later dispersed peacefully.
“The property tax is unacceptable and the BJP is befooling people by distancing itself from this government order. People need to unite against the imposition of property tax,” said PDP chief spokesman Suhail Bukahri after the protest.
Bukhari said that first the political rights of people of J&K were taken away and now poor people were being harassed in one way or another.
Another PDP protester said people of Jammu and Kashmir were going through tough conditions and imposition of property tax has added to more worries
“ We demand rollback of the property tax order,” he said.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday decided to levy property tax on people living within the jurisdiction of urban local bodies across J&K with effect from April 1.
The order evoked strong criticism from political parties including the BJP.
After severe criticism, the government clarified that property taxes to be imposed will be the lowest in the country. The government has also asked officials to educate people and stakeholders about the property tax.
