A group of Nihang Sikhs, led by Nihang leader Achhar Singh, set up a checkpoint near an NHAI toll plaza on the Kiratpur Sahib-Manali highway and collected taxes for over an hour.
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Singh told reporters they did not force anyone to pay and appealed to commuters in Himachal-registered vehicles entering Punjab to voluntarily pay any amount from Rs 10 as ‘Khalsa tax’.
“It was a symbolic protest against the tax levied on out-of-state vehicles entering HP,” he said.
“We want to ask the Himachal government where this money goes, which private individuals collect. It is like a ‘Jaziya tax’ collected during the Mughal period. We are protesting the unfair burden on transporters and travellers being imposed through its entry tax system in HP,” he alleged.
He said they will use the ‘Khalsa tax’ for the welfare of the poor.
The Nihang leader said they told police in Kiratpur to convey to the authorities that if the ‘entry tax’ for non-HP vehicles is not stopped, they will start collecting ‘Khalsa tax’ permanently.
