Telangana Govt Had Opposed GST Imposition On Textiles In 2017: Finance Minister Harish Rao

Harish Rao demanded an unconditional apology from the BJP leaders for propagating false information against the State government

Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Monday stated that the Telangana government had appealed to the  Central government for exemption of handloom products from the GST purview when the Center proposed it in 2017. Harish Rao responded to allegations made by union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy regarding the imposition of GST on textiles and released documents submitted to the GST Council by the then Finance Minister Etela Rajender, who is now a BJP MLA. 

He demanded an unconditional apology from the BJP leaders for propagating false information against the State government, which was fighting against the imposition of a five per cent GST on handloom products.

As a Union Minister, Kishan Reddy should research his claims before stating them, Rao remarked. Attacking Kishan Reddy, Rao asked, “Where are the funds the Telangana government asked for?”

The Finance Minister rubbished the claims of Kishan Reddy that the Centre provided Rs.800 crore for fluoride removal. He pointed out that the Centre did not release funds for Mission Bhagiratha. However, the NITI Aayog recommended for allocation of Rs.19,200 crore.

The union government failed to release the promised 50% of money under the Har Ghar ko Jal plan, despite the Telangana government spending Rs. 36,000 crores to provide tap connections to every household in the State, said Harish Rao.

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He pointed out that the Centre still needed to settle the water disputes and finalise allocations in Krishna river water. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured completion of the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme during his 2014 electioneering, there was no progress to date.

Harish Rao declared that the victory of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Munugode Assembly by-polls was inevitable. He said the people would vote for CM K Chandrashekhar Rao to drive away the demon of fluoride forever. He claimed that people were not prepared to believe the misleading information being spread by Bandi Sanjay, the state head of the BJP, and Kishan Reddy.

(With inputs from ABP Desam — It is a Telugu platform of ABP News. For more news, commentary and latest happenings from two Telugu states, follow https://telugu.abplive.com//amp)