Cong pushing TG into debt trap, warns BJP leader

Hyderabad: Targeting the government for borrowing Rs 1.63 lakh crore loans in just 15 months, BJP member A Maheshwar Reddy on Friday said that the government was racking up loans of Rs 1 crore every minute, putting a loan burden of Rs 2.27 lakh on every individual in the State.

The BJP floor leader made these comments while speaking in the discussion on the budget in the Assembly on Friday. He said that the Congress party which targeted the BRS for making Telangana a debt ridden state was following the path of the BRS government. Procuring loans of Rs 1.63 lakh crore in a span of just 15 months does not mean the state was progressing. “The government is procuring a loan of Rs 1 crore per minute and there was Rs 2.27 lakh loan burden on each individual. How can it be Telangana rising,” he questioned. He asked whether removing the schemes was a pro-people government. There are no funds for the six guarantees. This is nothing but a deceiving budget, alleged Maheshwar Reddy.

Alleging that this was a budget of lies, Maheshwar Reddy said that there was no balance maintained. The capital expenditure is just Rs 36,000 crore. Revenue expenditure and capital expenditure should be the same for a balanced budget but you have allocated just Rs 36,000 crore for capital expenditure. The Congress government is trying to take the state into crisis, he alleged.

The BJP leader alleged that the Praja Darbar was closed. “We have never seen such a situation in the state where the contractors had to protest for payment of their bills. They have also threatened to lay siege to the Assembly if their bills are not paid before March 25, said the BJP leader.

Talking on the devolution of funds, Maheshwar Reddy said that the Centre’s devolution during UPA was 33 per cent whereas the NDA government increased it to 41 per cent. He said that it was not proper to allege injustice by the BJP government at the Centre. He said that for providing funds for Rythu Bharosa, tenant farmers and others as per promises, the state government would require Rs 42,000 crore but the government allocated just Rs 18,000 crore.

The BJP leader alleged that while the BRS government used Kaleshwaram to loot state money, the present government was using Musi Rejuvenation and wanted the Centre to provide funds. “Is there a DPR with the government on Musi, which is not even in the manifesto of the Congress party. On one hand you say the state is debt ridden and on the other hand you spend lakhs of crores of rupees on Musi,” said Maheshwar Reddy.