Heated Debate in Telangana Assembly Over Whitepaper on State Finances
Hyderabad, December 20: The presentation of a whitepaper on Telangana’s state finances by the Congress government in the Assembly ignited a fierce debate on Wednesday. The opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) dismissed it as a pack of lies, while the ruling party blamed the previous government’s financial indiscipline for pushing the state toward bankruptcy.
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, also the Finance Minister, warned of a looming debt crisis with the state burdened with over Rs 6.71 lakh crore in total debt.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy defended the whitepaper, stating that its purpose was to present facts to the people. Responding to BRS MLA and former Finance Minister T. Harish Rao, Reddy asserted that it wasn’t intended to belittle anyone but to reveal the financial situation.
Reddy accused the BRS of “financial destruction” during its 10-year tenure. He highlighted data from the Reserve Bank of India, indicating a shift from having reserved funds with the RBI for 303 days in a year to the current reliance on daily loans.
The Chief Minister clarified that the whitepaper wasn’t presented to evade election promises and pledged to seek input from all parties before making decisions. He accused the BRS of attempting to mislead with falsehoods and claimed that Rs 1 lakh crore was misused in the name of the Kaleshwaram project.
Reddy alleged that assets created by the Congress were mortgaged by the BRS government to raise debts, pointing to the mortgage of the electricity department’s assets worth Rs. 4,972 crore.
Harish Rao countered, calling the whitepaper an attempt to tarnish Telangana’s image. He criticized the use of unconventional debt metrics and questioned the accuracy of budget estimates. Harish Rao demanded a fact-checking House committee, suggesting that the report was prepared by biased retired and suspended IAS officers.
