The Communist Party of India said on Thursday that there was a move to impose another new tax on vehicles – the Road Safety Cess – from June 1, the last day of voting in the ongoing general elections. The party said it completely rejected this arbitrary plan of the Uttar Pradesh government and demanded that this anti-people proposal be thrown into the dustbin. The CPI appealed to all parties and every citizen to strongly oppose this proposed step of the Uttar Pradesh government. Expressing strong objection to this proposed tax, CPI national executive member and state in-charge Dr Girish said that the double-engine government, which had already imposed a dozen taxes on vehicles and travel, was preparing to impose yet another tax to further burden vehicle owners and travelers. In a press statement, Dr Girish said that sources in the Transport department said that a proposal had been prepared to impose road safety cess on vehicles in Uttar Pradesh. After the final voting on June 1, it will be finalised and sent to the government any day, he claimed. He said the bureaucrats working under the government argued that the roads across the state were breaking down due to the increasing pressure of vehicles. The maintenance of broken roads will be done immediately from the revenue collected through road safety cess, he said. Dr Girish said when the Central and state governments were collecting billions of rupees from vehicle owners and travelers by imposing a dozen taxes in the name of construction and repair of roads, what was the need for another new tax. He said the Left parties had been repeatedly raising this question. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party government which talked of one country, one tax, had imposed many taxes on vehicles and travel. Dr Girish, while quoting sources, said there was a plan to levy one per cent cess on small vehicles and two per cent cess on heavy vehicles.

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