Rahul Gandhi seeks duty cut on items for blind students

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi speaks at a interactive session with students of Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru on Wednesday. (PTI Photo )

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi Monday shot off a letter to Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanding reduction in customs duty on import of special equipment for visually-impaired students, after a student from Bengaluru’s Mount Carmel College — which he visited last week — sought his intervention.

Chandana Chandrasekhar, a visually impaired B.Com student, wrote to him urging him to highlight their problems. “I, being visually impaired, have to put up with a mindset that there are vocational opportunities like ‘arts and journalism’ that are better suited to someone like me… Earlier, all imports of specialised equipment like Braille paper, embossers etc, used to be exempt from customs duty… The duties have now become prohibitive,” she said.

Referring to Chandrasekhar’s suggestion, Rahul in his letter to Sitharaman said: “The reduction of custom duties on these items will help the visually-impaired students to get educated and empowered. I would be grateful if I am kept informed about the action taken.”