Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Capt N. Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded that the Central Government exempt textiles industry from the Goods & Services Tax (GST).
He was addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday along with representatives of the Hyderabad Cut-Piece Cloth Merchants Association, The Hyderabad Wholesale Art Silk Cloth Merchants Association, The Hyderabad Cloth Merchants Association - Afzal Gunj, The Madina Market Art Silk Sarees & Cut-Piece Merchant Association and God Gift Market Cloth Merchants Association. The representatives of various associations met the TPCC President seeking his support in protest against the imposition of GST on textiles.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the textile sector is viewed as a business of common man and more than 20 lakh small and medium textile traders and another equal number of traders are connected with it directly or indirectly providing livelihood to large section of society in Telangana State. This is the second largest business sector after agriculture which involves weavers (hand looms, power looms), machine automated process house, hand processes. distributors, agents, whole sellers, semi whole sellers, retailers, hawkers, self employed women, etc.,
The TPCC chief said there are lakhs of power loom machines located in the entire country that are owned, run and managed by families in small villages and towns. "Most of the people doing this business are illiterate and work on very small profits. These traders are already facing severe problems like cut throat competition, fund shortage, high cost of manufacturing, etc., The imposition of GST on textile would adversely affect the livelihood of a large section of people," he said.
Announcing Congress party's total support to the ongoing agitation by textiles traders against GST, Uttam Kumar Reddy assured the traders that he would take up the matter with AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and would request him to raise the issue in the Parliament.