Shimla, March 31 The opposition BJP staged a protest outside the legislative assembly here on Tuesday before the proceedings began, demanding the withdrawal of the increased entry tax on vehicles from other states entering Himachal Pradesh.
Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur said the toll tax hike has created tension between the people of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, and protests have intensified, particularly in the border areas.
He warned that if the Himachal Pradesh government does not withdraw the increased toll tax immediately, state-registered vehicles could be stopped at entry points along the Punjab border, leading to public inconvenience and impacting law and order.
Thakur said the chief minister was making "arbitrary" decisions.
Raising the matter in the Vidhan Sabha through a point of order, BJP MLA Randhir Sharma said the law and order situation could deteriorate from Wednesday after the new entry tax rates take effect at midnight on Tuesday.
He said people in Punjab have started protests against the increased entry tax and threatened that vehicles from Himachal Pradesh would not be allowed into Punjab starting April 1.
He added that the CM had assured the House on Monday that he would look into it, but no concrete measures had been taken to ease the volatile situation.
Responding to the matter, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said he would talk to his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Singh Mann regarding the issue.
Sukhu said the government has no information about the unrest in the border areas over the entry tax. "The tax has been increased only on big vehicles. Also, we are looking at rationalising the tax," the CM said.