GST 2.0 Shakes State Coffers – Owaisi Joins Hands in Rare Bipartisan Storm!
By C SUBRAHMANYAM
Hyderabad | September 22, 2025
THE FISCAL BATTLEFIELD
The GST drama has just exploded into a full-blown fiscal battlefield!
On one side, the Central Government flaunting its so-called “GST 2.0 reforms” as the masterstroke of economic simplification.
On the other, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, slamming his fist on the table and demanding a staggering ₹7,000 crore compensation.
Why? Because the new four-slab regime — 0%, 5%, 18% and a punishing 40% — effective from September 22, 2025 is burning holes in Hyderabad’s exchequer!
“We demand that the Centre take immediate action to mitigate the financial burden arising from the GST rate rationalisation, which has severely affected Telangana’s revenue streams,”
— Revanth Reddy
He directed Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka to write to Union coal and mines minister G. Kishan Reddy, pressing for the release of a viability gap fund.
THE HARD TRUTH: STATES BLEED WHILE CENTRE SMILES
Delhi celebrates rationalisation, but the states are left to pick up the broken pieces.
A 2023 NIPFP study already warned us — states like Telangana, heavily dependent on indirect taxes, could face a 10–15% revenue shortfall.
Now the prophecy has come true.
The Centre calls it “uniform growth.”
But Telangana calls it financial throttling.
This is not simplification; this is centralisation at the cost of state survival.
POLITICS MEETS PAYCHECK
Enter Asaduddin Owaisi.
Yes, the Hyderabad MP who usually locks horns with the ruling Congress in Telangana. But this time? A rare moment of political unity!
He has thrown his weight behind Revanth Reddy’s demand. Why? Because this isn’t just about numbers, it’s about Telangana’s soul.
“I completely agree with and support the demand put forward by Revanth Reddy, which should be accepted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. This will help all states and show whether the Centre truly believes in federalism,”
— Owaisi on X
Remember Singareni Collieries? The miners who sweated blood for statehood. That legacy of struggle still echoes. And today, it is not coal but cash that Telangana is fighting for.
THE LARGER PICTURE – GST 2.0 OR GST TRAP?
Let’s not mince words. GST 2.0 was marketed as a growth booster.
But if states are forced to go begging with compensation cups, what kind of “cooperative federalism” is this?
Uniform tax rates may suit Delhi’s narrative, but on the ground, states are staring at gaping deficits.
Revanth Reddy’s demand is not just about money. It’s about fiscal federalism.
If Delhi doesn’t loosen its grip, this ₹7,000 crore flashpoint may just ignite a larger confrontation — a battle for state rights under the GST regime.
THE FINAL WORD
Today it’s Telangana. Tomorrow it could be any other state.
Revanth Reddy has fired the first salvo. Owaisi has added gunpowder.
The question is simple — will the Centre pay up or push the states into rebellion?
One thing is certain: the GST “One Nation, One Tax” dream is fast turning into a nightmare of “One Nation, Unequal Burden.”
Do you want me to refine this further into a front-page newspaper layout style (with bold sub-heads, side quotes, and highlights) so it looks like a professional editorial piece?
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