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“I Can Lynch You Here,” J&K Minister tells NC MLA at GST Session

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had to be adjourned following the ruckus over the GST. 

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"I can lynch you here," Jammu and Kashmir minister Imran Ansari told National Conference leader Devender Rana in the Legislative Assembly during a discussion on implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 4 July

The remark came during a heated argument between the minister and the opposition MLA.

J&K is the only state that is yet to implement the GST, which came into force on 1 July.

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While taking part in the discussion on the GST regime, Rana said members of the House should rise above "political considerations" and agree upon what is good for the state and its people.

He opposed the GST in its current form, saying it would render the special status of the state as a "hollow husk".

The minister for information technology, technical education and youth services and sports, interrupted and accused Rana of “double standards”. He claimed that while Rana was opposing the GST in the Assembly, he had already migrated his businesses to the new taxation regime.

Responding to the accusation, the NC lawmaker said he had done nothing wrong as obtaining GST registrations had no legal validity in view of non-implementation of the new tax system in the state.

Maine tax ki chori nahi ki hai (I have not indulged in tax evasion)

To this, an infuriated Ansari said: "I can lynch you here. I know all your shady businesses. There is no bigger thief than you. You started from selling mobil oil. Where did you get all this wealth from?"

Rana, who kept his cool, responded:

Many like me can be sacrificed at the altar of safeguarding the interests of Jammu and Kashmir.

Several senior NC MLAs joined the issue.

Ruckus in J&K Assembly

The Legislative Assembly proceedings on 4 July were disrupted by MLAs, who created ruckus over the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the state.

The opposition National Conference and the Congress have been protesting the rollout of the new tax regime.

Earlier on 4 July, police detained several traders after they tried to march towards the J&K Legislative Assembly. The traders waved black flags and shouted slogans to protest the GST.

They were scheduled to hold a sit-in near the assembly to protest the implementation of GST in the state in its present form, claiming that it would lead to the erosion of the state's special position and its fiscal autonomy.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)

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