: Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy on September 17, 2021, said the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was misleading the people on the State finances by fudging figures and misinterpreting various economic indicators to suit it's false narrative. He alleged that his predecessor Yanamala Ramakrishnudu was driving the misinformation campaign against the government.
In a press release on Friday, Mr. Rajendranath Reddy said the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2019-20 was 7.23% and the growth rates in agriculture, industrial and services sectors were 7.91%, 10.24% and 6.20% respectively. These were achieved in spite of the devastating impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, he claimed.
In 2019-20, Andhra Pradesh (AP) was in the third position in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) index and 4th in the previous year (2018-19).
As per the NITI Aayog reports, AP currently stands in 5th and 6th positions in poverty eradication and reduction of inequalities. During the TDP regime, AP was in the performance category of the SDG index whereas it is now among the front runners.
Mr. Rajendranath Reddy said the TDP calculated the real growth rate on the basis of current prices instead of constant prices which should be the norm. TDP did it with an intention to malign the government.
Figures related to the pandemic period were also factored in and farm sector growth was hidden as part of the TDP's vicious agenda.
The picture during the pandemic would be obviously bleak.
The GSDP growth in 2018-19 (the year before YSR Congress took over the baton from TDP) was a paltry 4.88%, the FM observed. He suggested to Mr. Ramakrishnudu to use his experience for public good rather than to blame the government for certain things that are beyond its control, which include the TDP government's failures.