Harsimrat a 'compulsive liar', says Punjab CM Amarinder Singh

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday dubbed Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal a "compulsive liar" while reacting to the allegations that the state government reneged on its commitment of refunding its share of the GST charged on purchases for "langar" by the SGPC.

 "She is a compulsive liar with no shame in pedaling even religion for her petty political gains," Amarinder Singh said in a statement here.

The chief minister trashed the allegations levelled by the Shiromani Akali Dal leader and said these were "yet another bunch of lies reflecting the her perverse mentality, which seemed to take pleasure from befooling and misleading the people".

"Bereft of any meaningful political issue to fight the upcoming assembly bypolls (to four seats) in the state, Harsimrat and the rest of the Akali leadership are once again resorting to outright fabrications in a desperate bid to deceive people," said the chief minister.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a SAD MP from Bathinda, had on Saturday accused the Congress government of not refunding its share of GST charged on purchases made by the SGPC for langar (community kitchen).

This is in "sharp contrast to the responsibility and gravity" with which the Centre addresses issues of Sikhs, including its "gesture of reimbursing the GST on purchases made by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for langar for the sangat", she had said in a statement.

The Centre had released Rs 57 lakh as a refund on the goods and services tax (GST) charged on raw materials used to prepare food at 'langars' in gurdwaras, including the Golden Temple, she had claimed.

 The chief minister said the Union minister's allegations did not have an "iota of truth".

"The fact is that the state government has not only notified 100 per cent GST refund for Punjab's share in respect of Shri Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple), Sri Durgiana Mandir and Sri Valmik Sthal, Ram Tirath, but had allocated Rs 4 crore to the deputy commissioner, Amritsar, in May this year for the same," he said.

Amarinder Singh reiterated his government's commitment to refunding the state's share of the GST not just for the current year but with effect from August 1, 2017, for all the three holy shrines.

-PTI

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