Kerala CM VD Satheesan has announced zero-tolerance policy against tax evaders. He said that honest traders will get complete security. Also, rejecting LDF’s allegations of privatization, he said that the previous government itself had given the contract to the private company.
Government’s tough stance on tax evasion
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [भारत]June 30 (ANI): Taking a tough stance on the state’s fiscal discipline, Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan has announced a no-compromise and zero-tolerance policy towards tax evasion. He promised full state protection to honest businesses, while calling for aggressive action against illegal traders.
Speaking during an intense discussion on the budget in the Kerala Assembly, the Chief Minister referred to the dual challenge posed by tax evaders. He warned that their activities simultaneously drain public funds and drive ethical local traders out of business. Chief Minister Satheesan detailed how tax evasion cripples the local economy, explaining that illegal trade unfairly penalizes business owners who operate transparently within the framework of the law.
CM Satheesan stressed in the Assembly, “The government will take a tough stance against tax evasion. There will be no compromise with tax evaders. Tax evasion creates two big problems. First, it deprives the state exchequer of legitimate revenue. Second, when tax evaders engage in illegal business, they compete unfairly with genuine taxpayers who pay rent, electricity and water bills, employ staff, pay salaries and comply with all tax obligations.” Are.”
The Chief Minister emphasized that when illegal traders circumvent state taxes, honest establishments are systematically driven out of the market. “As a result, honest businesses are forced to close, and ultimately the government suffers the biggest loss. We will fully support and protect genuine taxpayers, but our approach towards tax evaders will be uncompromising.”
Reply to opposition on allegations of privatization
Turning his attention to the heated political debate over the state budget, Chief Minister Satheesan strongly rejected the Left Democratic Front (LDF) opposition’s claims that his government was handing over public infrastructure to corporate entities. The Chief Minister challenged the lawmakers to find even a single piece of evidence to support the allegations of corporate favors in his financial roadmap.
Satheesan hit back, saying, “There is not a single mention of privatization in the budget. When we talked about the Mineral Corridor, there was not a single sentence about privatization. Yet the opposition accused us, whereas it was the previous LDF government that had already signed a deal with a private company.”
To buttress his defence, the Chief Minister put forward official state board files which revealed that the controversial preparations to involve private players in Kerala’s mineral-rich beach sands were authorized entirely under the supervision of the previous government. The Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) board under the previous LDF government had clearly decided to invite global e-tender for monazite cracking through private sector participation. After the three global entities submitted official bids, the previous board passed a resolution formally approving the award of the contract to Midwest Limited under standard tender rules.
“These are all official board decisions taken during the tenure of the LDF government,” CM Satheesan concluded. He questioned the hypocrisy of the week-long protests against the current leadership. “Despite this, he spent a week alleging that our government was handing over Kerala’s mineral wealth and beach sand to private hands. There is no such proposal in the budget. It was the previous government that went ahead with the monazite cracking project and approved the deal.” (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet News editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)