The opposition AIADMK and its allies including the BJP walked out of the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday, April 6, demanding the withdrawal of the hike in property tax. AIADMK joint coordinator and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) led the AIADMK legislators in walking out of the Assembly.
While walking out of the house, EPS said, “In the last two years, people have suffered a lot due to the pandemic and have lost their livelihood. Even in such a situation, the government has increased the property tax which has come as a jolt out of the blue for ordinary people." He said that the ruling party has reneged on its poll promise that it would not increase the property tax until the people overcame the impact of COVID-19. The decision to increase property tax rates was made on Saturday, April 2, effecting an across-the-board revision.
The leaders of DMK ally parties like the Congress and the VCK, however, in their speech said that the property tax hike was inevitable. But, they added, the government could bring it down to help those who were already suffering from the hike in fuel prices. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, MK Stalin, while speaking in the House, appealed to the opposition parties not to play politics over the hike in rates of property taxes, and ruled out the possibility of any withdrawal from the hike announced.
He called upon the political parties to set aside their differences with the government and to work for the development of Tamil Nadu.
CM Stalin was responding to the calling attention motion in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday. He said that his government has not increased the property tax willingly. He said, "There is a compulsion for the government to tackle the situation when the civic bodies are in dire need of funds".
He added that there were several development schemes that were getting affected due to the fund crunch and hence the government has increased property tax “without affecting the poor and the middle class”.