Union Budget disappointed people of Telangana: Uttam

Hyderabad: Congress MP and ex-TPCC President Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Union Budget 2023-24 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha on Wednesday was highly disappointing for Telangana. Further, he described it as an 'anti-poor and pro-corporate budget.

After the presentation of the Union Budget, Uttam Kumar Reddy said no specific announcements have been made for Telangana in the budget speech. "The Finance Minister did not even mention anything about the fulfilment of promises made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. This was the 10th union budget after the formation of Telangana. However, the BJP Govt did not honour a single promise made through legislation passed by the Parliament in 2013," he said.

"In her 58-page budget speech, the Finance Minister mentioned Telangana only once by promising to support the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad as the Centre of Excellence. But no funds have been promised. We've seen several such fake promises by the Modi Govt in the past," he said.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the BRS Govt headed by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao was equally responsible for the utter neglect of Telangana in the Union Budget. "CM KCR has failed to build pressure on the BJP Govt to get adequate funds for Telangana. In the initial years, KCR acted as a devoted 'Modi Bhakt' and now he is enacting the dramas of rivalry with the BJP. Earlier he supported and strengthened PM Modi and now he is focused on building his image as a 'national leader'. He never cared for Telangana and did nothing to get the new State its due share in the Union Budget," he said.

The Congress MP also slammed the BJP leaders of Telangana for not making any efforts to get funds or big projects for the State. "Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, Telangana BJP President Bandi Sanjay and other two MPs miserably failed in convincing their party's government to allocate sufficient funds for the State. They only enjoy playing blame games through media in the State, but have no courage to fight for the interest of Telangana in Delhi," he said.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the people of Telangana were expecting announcements like:

* Railway Coach Factory in Kazipet

* A steel factory at Bayyaram

* Revival of Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) in Hyderabad

* Funds for Tribal University

However, the Modi Govt did nothing to either fulfill old promises or make some new announcements.

Nothing for the common people

Further, he said that there was nothing for common people in the Union Budget. "The problems of rising inflation and unemployment were not addressed. No solutions have been offered to provide relief to the common people from the rising prices of essential commodities. Nothing has been done to reduce the prices of cooking gas, petrol and diesel. There is nothing in the budget for unemployed youth, farmers, women and students.

The Union Budget only addressed the needs of big industrialists. The tax rebate up to Rs. 7 lakh is completely insignificant considering the rising inflation," he said.

Who are the 80 crore people?

Uttam Kumar Reddy ridiculed the Finance Minister's claim that since 2014 the per capita income has more than doubled to Rs. 1.97 lahks. "If Nirmala Sitharaman's claims are true, then who are the 80 crore people standing in queues every month to get just 5 kg of rice and 1 kg of pulses under the PMGKAY scheme?" he asked.

Further, he said that the expenditure on Agriculture has been slashed drastically from 3.84% in BE 2022-23 to 3.20% in 2023-24. Nothing has been offered to address rural poverty.