Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao lashed out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Assembly on Tuesday after the latter’s Floor Leader K. Laxman criticised the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Government for allegedly piling up debt on the State. Intervening during the Finance Minister Etala Rajender’s reply to the general discussion on Budget, the Chief Minister asked the BJP members to show whether there was any State in the country or any country in the world that was not borrowing money for development. Stating that borrowing was part of any budget, he pointed out that the Centre’s debt stood at 49.5% of the country’s GDP.
Mr. Rao explained that against the GDP of ₹167 lakh crore the Centre had a debt of ₹82 lakh crore and its debt servicing for the current year stood at ₹8.76 lakh crore. However, Telangana’s debt was 21% of its GSDP even after taking over about ₹9,000 crore debt of the two power distribution companies in the State after they joined the Centre’s UDAY scheme. Otherwise, it would have been less than 19% of the GSDP, he claimed.
“Is there no good work done in the State during the last four years and is any BJP-ruled State giving ‘Aasara’ social security pensions in the measure of Telangana”, the Chief Minister sought to know from the BJP members. He stated that Madhya Pradesh had introduced a scheme similar to the KCR Kits in the election year after the success of Telangana’s scheme.
With 22% income growth rate, Telangana was number one in the country, Mr. Rao said. He said ₹17,000 crore loan waiver and better pay to the State Government staff than the Central staff was possible only because of the economic buoyancy of the State. He suggested the Opposition parties not to curse the State in the pretext of political criticism.