Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has threatened to launch an intense agitation, similar to the T-movement, if the Centre tries to impose restrictions on gold jewellery held by women. Mr Rao said he would not tolerate any move by the Centre that may create trouble for women holding gold ornaments.
Speaking during the debate on demonetisation in the Legislative Council on Saturday, Mr Rao said that women inherit gold ornaments from their mothers and grandmothers. “This is part of our country’s tradition and should not be viewed as unaccounted gold,” he said.
Mr Rao said once the country moves to a cashless system, there would be only two types of taxes —GST and bank transaction tax. He said the Centre will abolish Income Tax in the coming days.
“There are certain customs and traditions in our country. Daughters share the gold belonging to their mother. Some women inherit gold from their grandmothers or family members. This should not be treated as unaccounted gold. I even broached the subject with the PM when I met him recently. He clarified that there was no such proposal. However, reports are doing the rounds that the government will seize even mangalasutras and bangles from women if they are not accounted for. If that happens, I will not remain silent but take up an agitation which will be on the scale of the T-movement,” Mr Rao said, to applause from ruling party members. He also praised the PM for taking a ‘daring decision' on demonetisation to curb black money.
