The Federation of Indian Handloom Organisations and Gram Seva Sangha have written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah demanding that the State legislature pass a resolution asking the GST Council to exempt all handmade products from taxes.
In a joint letter written to Mr. Siddaramaiah, well-known handloom activist Uzramma from the federation and theatreperson Prasanna, representing the sangha, said they would appeal to all political parties to stand by this demand.
The sangha has been leading ‘Tax Denial Satyagraha’, opposing GST on natural, handmade products. On Saturday, they held a protest at Hyderabad where the GST Council met, and were taken into custody by the police, according to Mr. Prasanna. The satyagraha will be held in other parts of the country too, including Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur from September 11 to 24. While Gandhi topi is exempted from GST, Mr. Prasanna said all other khadi products are taxed between 5% and 15%.