After Khatakhat Scheme, Congress retracts “The Toilet Tax” after facing backlash

After landing Himachal into a financial crisis, the Congress govt notified the people of a unique kind of tax that people must have never heard of, now they would have to pay “the Toilet Tax”

After causing a flurry of confusion and controversy, the Himachal Pradesh government quickly changed a notification that it had released in the morning on September 21st, September 21, suggesting a “toilet tax” in metropolitan areas. The matter gained so much popularity & people’s attention that the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu himself was forced to address the situation at a news conference in New Delhi on Friday. He refuted the allegations and charged his rivals of using the issue for electoral advantage.

When establishments in urban areas use their own water sources and the department’s sewerage system, sewage charges will be assessed at a rate of $25 per seat each month, according to the initial announcement from the office of the Additional Chief Secretary (Jal Shakti).

The first notification was updated after it had already reached several Municipal Corporation offices, despite the swift reverse. When the notification was leaked to the Dharamshala media, the matter became controversial and provoked political criticism as well as a great deal of conjecture.

The water cess that was implemented in rural areas by the Sukhu administration on October 1st under the same announcement served as justification for the tax. Rural communities used to receive free water from the previous BJP administration, but as of October 1, this notice ended the program. Earlier, CM Sukhu had said how even upscale hotels were abusing the bribe that the state’s departing BJP government had instituted.

The Cong administration resolved to eliminate the free water service in rural areas and impose a monthly cess of Rs 100 on rural residential users whose yearly income exceeds Rs 50,000 during a Cabinet meeting in August.

“All the water connections except rural domestic connections shall be metered,” according to the letter dated September 21.

“The charges for sewerage connections in urban and rural areas (where sewerage facilities are available) be levied at 30% of water charges,” the statement continued.

Speaking in New Delhi on Friday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu rejected as unfounded the allegations of a “toilet tax,” charging the opposition of exploiting the matter to further their political agenda in advance of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha elections.

Sukhu stated that “The BJP is playing the religion card or raising fabricated issues like this so-called toilet tax. These are unfounded allegations aimed at misleading the public,”

Sukhu went on to clarify in a statement that the previous BJP government implemented many schemes worth Rs 5,000 crore, including the provision of free water, in an attempt to win the 2022 elections.

In spite of these actions, the Congress was elected. Sukhu continued, “The current administration has now streamlined water subsidies, imposing a small Rs 100 charge per month in rural regions.” He further stated that the free water provision was even extended to five-star hotels.

The Khatakhat Scheme

The phrase “khatakhat, khatakhat,” coined by Congress President Rahul Gandhi to describe how people will receive money in their accounts after the INDIA alliance gains power, has been popular among other Congressmen and Opposition politicians, including as Tejaswi Yadav, who have started incorporating it into their campaign speeches.

Ajay Rai, the Congress candidate running for Varanasi, recently urged people to vote for him on June 1 by saying, “Khatakhat, khatakhat.” If they did, he promised to complete their task “fatafat, fatafat, fatafat.”

It led to a spontaneous outrage against the Congress government which has been accused of falling short of its tall election promises and manifesto. Several experts, poll pundits, bureaucrats had been expressing concern that the opposition parties including Congress’ tactics of announcing ‘Khata Khata’ schemes, that is, dolling out cash, would take India on the path of financially bankrupt countries like Sri Lanka.

Slamming the Congress government, BJP spokesman Karan Nanda stated that the notification was only removed because the administration sensed public outrage. Nanda stated, “The Sukhu government rolled back the notification to avoid backlash, but the Rs 25 charge will likely be imposed through other means”.

The BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala also slammed Congress Govt & the CM Sukhu for putting tax on the toilet seat in every TV show he recently was in.