BENGALURU: The imposition of goods and services tax ( GST ) on handicrafts and handloom products, which support the rural economy in times of agricultural distress, has become a potential tool for the Congress in Karnataka in the run-up to the 2018 state assembly polls.Rural artisans and activists, who have taken up an agitation in several states asking for GST to be removed on items that are one-third machine manufactured and two-thirds handmade, have asked chief minister Siddaramaiah to get a resolution passed in the legislative assembly for taking up this demand with the Centre.They have also met agriculture minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Karnataka's representative on the GST council, to press for their demands.“Our handicrafts and handlooms cannot compete with machine-manufactured goods in the market. The atta that is sold by the farmer in a packet through cooperatives cannot be treated on a par with that manufactured by multinational companies and taxed at 28%,“ theatre person and social activist Prasanna, one of the leaders of the agitation, told ET.Gowda told ET that the government was sympathetic towards this demand. “If they (the protestors) can sit with our officers and work out a watertight definition of what is handicraft and handloom, we will work with them and take it up with the Centre,“ he said.The agitation, which uses tax denial as its main tool, has been on for a couple of months now.The activists and manufacturers of handicrafts in Karnataka and other states are refusing to pay GST and selling their goods. “This is the first time since Independence that this sector has been subjected to tax. We are not paying it to protest and point out the very negative impact of such a tax on rural economy ,“ Prasanna said.The protesters have been partially successful in that the GST council, in its last meeting in Hyderabad on September 7, removed the tax on `khadi' which is sold through the counters of the Khadi and Village Industries Corporation. The demand now is to ensure this is extended to all handicrafts.The agitators are holding a convention on September 24 at Jinjappanagudda in Tumakuru district and planning a `padayatra' from there to the Kasturba Ashram in Arsikere of Hassan district, a distance of 150 km over eight days, to press for their demand. They are also planning to approach the JD(S) and the BJP in Karnataka to support their stand.“It is a political issue and has to be addressed as such. We are sensitising everyone about it,“ Prasanna said.