KTR Writes to Centre: Scrap GST on Handlooms, Cut Fuel Prices to Ease Inflation
In the letter, the former Telangana Minister sought the complete abolition of the five percent GST on handloom products, terming it not just an economic issue but also a matter of preserving India’s cultural heritage.
Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K T Rama Rao (KTR) has written an open letter to the Central Government ahead of tomorrow’s GST Council meeting, demanding urgent relief measures for common people and the handloom sector.
In the letter, the former Telangana Minister sought the complete abolition of the five percent GST on handloom products, terming it not just an economic issue but also a matter of preserving India’s cultural heritage.
He recalled that the BRS government under K Chandrashekar Rao had extended multiple welfare schemes for weavers, including a 50 percent subsidy on raw materials and insurance for their families. Rama Rao said imposing GST on handlooms was an insult to culture, stressing that handlooms were not just a textile sector but a heritage that needed protection.
He also criticised the Union Government’s move to abolish the 12 percent GST slab, describing it as a “fraudulent promise” aimed at misleading people. He said the slab accounted for only about five per cent of total GST revenues, and its removal would not ease the burden on the poor or middle class.
Highlighting rising fuel prices, Rama Rao blamed the Centre’s heavy excise duties and cesses on petrol, diesel, and LPG for skyrocketing inflation. He said that even though international crude prices had fallen to 2014 levels, fuel prices in India remained among the highest in the world. He demanded that the Centre reduce excise duties and abolish cesses to bring down the prices of essential commodities.
Accusing the BJP-led government of ignoring the federal spirit, Rama Rao said raising revenue through cesses rather than taxes had weakened state finances. He argued that only strong states could ensure a strong Centre and urged the Union government to act responsibly to reduce the burden on citizens.
In his letter, Rama Rao called for the abolition of GST on education-related fees, life and health insurance policies, cancer medicines, and other life-saving drugs. He said genuine tax relief on essential commodities, rather than what he called “eyewash measures” like scrapping the 12 per cent slab, was the need of the hour.
KTR also appealed to the Telangana government to strongly press for the abolition of GST on handlooms in tomorrow’s GST Council meeting.
