KTR Demands Removal Of GST On Handlooms

Telangana minister K T Rama Rao has demanded that the union government withdraw the 5% Goods and Services Tax being imposed on handlooms.

Speaking at a programme in Sircilla town on Tuesday, Rao said that the current NDA union government was the first to impose tax on the handloom sector, and that Narendra Modi was the only Prime Minister to impose tax on handloom products in the history of the country.

Claiming that the weaving community was in misery due to the union government's decision, Rao said that the Centre should revoke the tax and announce incentives for the welfare of weavers instead.

Also accusing the union government of discriminating against Telangana, KTR said that the State government had been requesting the sanctioning of a Mega Textile Park for Sircilla and an Indian Institute of Handlooms Technology for the State for the last eight years, but that there was no response from the Centre.

He also criticised BJP State president and Lok Sabha Member Bandi Sanjay Kumar for failing to get the sanction for even a single educational institution for the Karimnagar Parliament constituency.

"Except for provoking the public, especially the youth, in the name of religion, the BJP government at the Centre has done nothing for the development of the country during the last eight years," KTR claimed.