Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has requested the Centre to withdraw GST on items which impact the lives of low-income group people stating that the unabated price rise has already impacted their lives badly.
He wanted the Centre to withdraw GST on dairy products, handlooms, beedis and others. “I wish the Centre takes a positive view on the issue and announces withdrawal of GST linked to the poor at the NITI Aayog’s Sunday meeting”, Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said here on Saturday.
Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao accused the Centre of diluting the NREGS too by bringing in changes in its implementation such as marking biometric attendance twice a day and others. Its impact was so high that wage seekers under the scheme from about 15 States went to Delhi recently and staged a protest against the changes.
He alleged that the Centre had assured to link NREGS to agriculture initially but went back on it later.
On the State’s borrowing limit under the Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the Chief Minister accused the Centre of changing the provisions mid-way of a financial year after the borrowing limit was fixed by it and budget was approved by the State legislature. He stated that after fixing the limit at ₹54,000 crore for 2022-23, the Centre had pruned it to ₹29,000 crore and relaxed ₹10,000 crore after the State Government spoke about taking legal recourse.
The State Government was still pursuing with the Centre to restore the remaining ₹15,000 crore borrowing limit to allow it to carry on the plans for the State’s progress. “The FRBM limit cut mid-way will make States limp financially”, he felt.
He criticised the Centre for talking against freebies such as Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, Aasara social security pensions, free power to agriculture and others stating that providing some stability to the lives of those covered under them would contribute to economic growth. He sought to know why the Centre was on the spree of writing off loans of corporates by declaring them non-performing assets (NPAs) which were at ₹58,000 crore in 2004-04, ₹2.63 lakh crore in 2013-14 and ₹20.07 lakh crore now.
