BRS seeks privilege motion against State govt over inflating debt figures

Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Legislative Party has requested Speaker Gaddam Prasad to approve a Privilege Motion against State Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka for presenting misleading data on Telangana’s debt.

BRS leaders accused the government of inflating debt figures to Rs 7 lakh crore, contrary to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) report citing the debt as Rs 3.89 lakh crore.

“The Finance Minister’s statements misled the assembly and people of Telangana,” said KTR, BRS working president, citing the RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States.

The BRS demanded that the government present accurate debt figures in the Assembly or allow the Privilege Motion for debate. KTR highlighted past precedence when a similar motion was permitted under Speaker Manohar against then chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, emphasising the need to uphold legislative traditions.

The BRS leader strongly criticised the government for prioritising tourism discussions in the Assembly while ignoring pressing issues like the Lagacharla farmers’ imprisonment. KTR called for an immediate debate on the incident, stressing its significance, especially as it occurred in the Speaker’s home district, Vikarabad. KTR took a sarcastic dig at the government, coining the terms “Delhi tourism” and “jail tourism”. He accused the administration of prioritising frequent trips to Delhi and unjustly jailing dissenters, including Lagacharla farmers, social media activists, and Opposition leaders.