Telangana Assembly witnesses heated debate over whitepaper on state finances

Hyderabad, Dec 20: The whitepaper tabled by the Congress government on Telangana's state finances in the Assembly triggered a heated debate on Wednesday as the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) termed it as a pack of lies, while the ruling party blamed the financial indiscipline of the previous government for pushing the state on the brink of bankruptcy.

The day-long debate on state finances saw both sides indulging in sharp exchanges.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who is also the Finance Minister, said the state is staring at a debt crisis with a total debt of over Rs 6.71 lakh crore.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy defended the government’s move to present the whitepaper on finances, saying its intention is only to place facts before the people.

In a strong counter to BRS MLA and former Finance Minister T. Harish Rao, Revanth Reddy said the whitepaper was not presented to belittle or humiliate anybody.

He alleged that for 10 years, the BRS carried out 'financial destruction'.

The Chief Minister said the details with regard to revenue and requirement of funds were taken from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

He claimed that when the BRS came to power in 2014, the state was having reserved funds with the RBI for 303 days in a year. However, now the situation is such that the state has to stand before the RBI for loans every day, he said.

The Chief Minister also clarified that the government did not table the whitepaper to escape from the six guarantees given to the people during elections.

Revanth Reddy said he spoke to Union minister and state BJP President G. Kishan Reddy for meeting the Prime Minister with regard to the funds due from the Centre, adding that the state government is working for the people by rising above political interests.

Assuring the House that the government will not take unilateral decisions, he said before taking any decision, it would seek the opinion and suggestions of all the parties.

Revanth Reddy also accused the BRS of trying to mislead the House with 'lies'.

He further said that Rs 1 lakh crore was misused in the name of Kaleshwaram project.

The Chief Minister claimed that the assets created by the Congress in the past were mortgaged by the BRS government to raise debts. Electricity department’s assets of Rs.4,972 crore were mortgaged by the BRS, he alleged.

The previous government spent Rs 13.72 lakh crore in the last 10 years, but people did not benefit from it, he said.

Revanth Reddy then listed out the promises which BRS 'failed' to keep and also its failures to clear dues under schemes such as fee reimbursement and Rajiv Aarogyasri.

He claimed that the Congress government wants to ensure that the real beneficiaries avail the welfare schemes and Telangana emerge as a a powerful state.

Earlier, Harish Rao said that the whitepaper is an attempt to malign the image of Telangana and show the state in poor light.

The BRS leader said the Congress government is stalling the progress by saying that the state is on the brink of bankruptcy. He asked, how will investors come and how will loans and funds flow.

Harish Rao said the whitepaper has ignored the standard way of debt to GSDP and instead it showed debt to revenue receipts and that too based on a year when Covid-19 had badly hit the economy.

Stating that Budget estimates given in the whitepaper are wrong, he claimed that Telangana is among the bottom five in debt to GSDP ratio. He demanded a House committee to do a fact checking on the report.

He also alleged that the report was prepared by retired and suspended IAS officers who are against the BRS and (former Chief Minister) KCR.