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An anti-tobacco group yesterday expressed “shock” over West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s joke asking people to smoke more, so more revenue could be garnered to compensate investors of the collapsed Saradha chit fund. |
“This is a great discouragement for those working in the area of public health,” said Bhavna Mukhopadhyay, executive director of Voluntary Health Association of India.
Mukhopadhyay said the chief minister announced a 10% tax hike on cigarettes. “Higher prices discourage youth from initiating cigarette smoking and encourage current smokers to quit, but such a move should certainly not be accompanied by suggestions that people should use more tobacco.”
“We appreciate the tax increase on cigarettes, on the one hand. However, it is shocking to hear the statement encouraging people to smoke more, instead of protecting people of West Bengal from the dangers of tobacco use,” she said.
Banerjee announced a Rs5bn fund on Wednesday to compensate the poorest among thousands of depositors who have lost their savings in the Saradha chit fund collapse.
The chief minister announced a 10% additional tax on cigarettes to mop up revenue to reimburse the poor people defrauded by Saradha chit fund, and suggested, with the hint of a smile, that people should smoke more for a few days to help raise the money.
“Smoking is bad… let there be tax on it. But am I responsible for what Sudipta Sen did? Why should I pay more tax on every cigarette I smoke? I haven’t fleeced the people, I haven’t fleeced their money,” rebel Trinamool Congress parliamentarian Kabir Suman said.
The singer-turned-politician said the additional tax on cigarettes announced by the state government was not a “valid political argument.”