Taking strong objection to BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s criticism of the State Government in handling the handloom sector, TRS working president and Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao dared Mr. Sanjay to mount pressure on the BJP-led Central Government to allot an exclusive textile park to Telangana.
In an open letter to Mr. Sanjay, Mr. Rama Rao attacked the BJP for its ‘anti-weaver’ policies that plunged the sector into a crisis. “At a time when the Central Government’s policies plunged the textile sector into a severe crisis, Mr. Sanjay is trying to cast aspersions on the government which is striving hard to protect the sector. Even chameleons are ashamed of his comments,” he said.
Mr. Sanjay, he said, was trying to garner media publicity by spreading falsehood against the TRS Government. He should instead focus on securing schemes aimed at the welfare of weavers if he was keen on protecting their interests, failing which people would teach a fitting lesson to the BJP in the coming days.
Mr. Rama Rao said that the comments made by Mr. Sanjay were reflective of his absence of knowledge and awareness about the schemes launched by the Telangana Government for the welfare of weavers. “Our government has made huge budgetary allocations to handloom and power loom weavers while the previous governments were confined to shedding crocodile tears,” he averred.
Waiver of loans taken by weavers, first-of-its-kind scheme of 40 per cent subsidy on input costs in the form of Cheneta Mitra, and saving scheme ‘Netannaku Cheyutha’, are among the innovative schemes launched by the TRS government in the interests of weavers enabling them to withstand the adversities caused by the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
“The TRS Government has been developing the largest textile park in the country, the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, to ensure that the sector as a whole is developed on international standards,” he said adding there were no suicides by weaving community as in the past since the formation of Telangana.
The Central Government adopted a “totally non-cooperative attitude” towards the sector. Several representations submitted to the Centre seeking its help to rescue of weavers’ community went in vain. The Centre had also set aside the State’s request for extending liberal financial assistance to Kakatiya Mega Textile Park and setting up a mega powerloom cluster in the State.
“The BJP president is however continuing his yatra full of lies which exposed his lack of understanding of the problems faced by weavers,” he said. Mr. Sanjay’s opportunistic attitude was exposed by the fact that he never raised any issue pertaining to weavers with the BJP-ruled Central Government. “Had Mr. Sanjay, who is a Parliament member, spoken at least once about the problems faced by weavers?” he asked wondering whether the BJP leader was aware of the reverse migration of weavers from Mumbai, Bhivandi, Surat and other places.
He lamented about the plight of weavers in Telangana, ranked among the highest cotton growing States, because of the “inefficient policies” of the Central Government. These policies had ensured that the textile sector, which was the biggest employment generation sector after agriculture, was plunged into crisis.
“The problems of weavers are further compounded with the huge GST being charged by the Centre. Though several letters were addressed to the Centre to scrap the tax, the Government remained unmoved,” he said.
