TRS (BRS) to scale up campaign against GST on handlooms

Hyderabad: The postcard campaign and online petition campaign launched by TRS working president and Minister KT Rama Rao against the Centre’s GST on handloom products is all set to be scaled up over the next few days. The party leadership is also planning to take it up on a national level after the Munugode by-poll. […]

Hyderabad: The postcard campaign and online petition campaign launched by TRS working president and Minister KT Rama Rao against the Centre’s GST on handloom products is all set to be scaled up over the next few days. The party leadership is also planning to take it up on a national level after the Munugode by-poll.

Rama Rao had been vehemently opposing the Centre’s decision to impose GST on handlooms and on Saturday he launched a postcard campaign while he posted an online petition on Sunday, appealing to the union government to remove the GST on handloom products to protect the interests of weavers and the country’s cultural heritage.

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Shortly thereafter, TRS (BRS) leaders and cadre as well as several citizens joined both the campaigns which are picking up pace.

Others who joined the postcard campaign on Monday included national award winning poet Suddala Ashok Teja, Padmashri awardee and innovator Chintakindi Mallesham, Padmashree awardee and master weaver Gajam Govardhana, Padmashree awardee and master handloom designer Gajam Anjaiah, all of whom sent postcards to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding a rollback of the GST on handloom products.

However, as several TRS (BRS) leaders and cadre busy with the Munugode by-poll, the party leadership is learnt to have decided to scale up both the campaigns at the national level to mount pressure on the BJP-led union government to announce a rollback on imposing the GST on the handloom products. The TRS sources pointed out that the handlooms and textiles sector in India is second largest employer with over 50 lakh weavers.

“The imposition of GST on handlooms will not only affect livelihood of these 50 lakh workers, but also levy additional financial burden on the pockets of crores of Indians. Hence, the party is keen to scale up both these campaigns,” a senior functionary of the TRS said. Plans are afoot to involve like-minded forces from various parts of the country and build a pressure on the Centre. Further, the party leadership is keen to take up these campaigns in a better organised manner as ignoring it any further would result in loss of livelihood and traditional crafts.