The TRS leadership today raised a banner of revolt against the Centre over the GST rates on irrigation projects.
Party MPs Boora Narsaiah Goud and Bibi Patil, speaking to the media at Telangana Bhavan on Sunday, demanded that the Centre cancel the 12% GST on the irrigation projects in Telangana (the rate was reduced from 18% to 12% by the Centre yesterday, while KCR had asked for 5%).
"We strongly condemn such a move against the projects by the Centre," they said. "In the larger interests of the people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should reconsider his decision in this regard."
They said that the decision by the BJP government at the Centre was heavily against Telangana's interests. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had already urged the Modi government in this regard, and was now making efforts to get the support and coordination of other Chief Ministers against the GST rate, they said.
Telangana had extended support to the Centre for the uniform tax regime as it would liberalize the tax system and bring down prices and taxes. However the Centre had levied a heavy burden on irrigation projects much to the chagrin of the youngest state for which they were a key and high-expenditure social welfare effort, they said.
The TRS government would continue to mount pressure on the Centre and take the support of other states to get the rate eliminated, they said.