‘No mention of Telangana in speech’: Congress, BRS allege neglect by Centre in Union Budget

Hyderabad: The Congress and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) parties criticised the Centre for giving a ‘raw deal to Telangana’ in the Union Budget 2024-25, announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.

Except for the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, primarily intended to aid Andhra Pradesh’s Rayalaseema region, Nirmala Sitharaman offered little new to the State during her budget speech, the party leaders said.

Uttam says the Budget will only help BJP allies

Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy strongly condemned Nirmala Sitharaman for completely neglecting Telangana in the Union Budget 2024-25.

Eight BJP MPs, including two Union ministers – G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay – failed to get a decent share for Telangana in the Union Budget. It was highly disappointing for Telangana as it deprived the State of its share in resources and welfare schemes, he added.

Uttam Kumar said that the budget was politically motivated and drafted not for the people but to please BJP’s allies, JD(U) and the TDP.

While Bihar was given financial aid of Rs 41,000 crores, Andhra Pradesh got Rs 15,000 crores and other sops, including funds for completing the Polavaram project. Congress-ruled States, especially Telangana, were totally neglected, he said.

‘Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention Telangana at all’

“This was the 11th budget after the formation of Telangana in 2014, but the new State remained neglected by the Centre. For the first time since 2014, a separate chapter titled ‘Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act’ was incorporated in the budget, but the finance minister did not mention the word ‘Telangana’ in her entire speech of 58 pages and 14,692 words,” he said and criticised Nirmala Sitharaman for completely skipping mentioning Telangana when she spoke about the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act in her budget speech.

Stating that the party is not against the Centre giving special funds to Andhra Pradesh, Uttam Kumar condemned the ‘discrimination towards Telangana’ and stated: “Led by chief minister A Revanth Reddy, a delegation of Telangana ministers submitted various applications to all ministries in the last seven months seeking funds for various projects. But our pleas were completely ignored.”

‘Polavaram funded, Palamuru Ranga LI Scheme forgotten’

Stating that, while the BJP government is keeping its promises to fund the Polavaram project, the minister said that the Centre has however made no assurance about funds for the Palamuru Ranga Lift Irrigation Scheme.

“We are still hopeful that the BJP government will provide funds for the Palamuru Ranga Reddy Project as assured to us by the then Union Water Resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat,” he said.

‘Many promises under AP Reorganisation Act unfulfilled’

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the people of Telangana have been waiting for 10 years for the BJP government to honour the promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act.

The Railway Coach Factory in Kazipet, a steel factory at Bayyaram, funds for Tribal University, funds for high-speed road and rail connectivity and other promises made in the Act remained unfulfilled. “If Bihar and Andhra Pradesh deserve special funds, then why is Telangana being deprived of such treatment?” he asked.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the finance minister selectively sanctioned grants for the backward regions of Rayalaseema, Prakasam and North Coastal Andhra but decided to skip the mention of the backward regions of Telangana.

Telangana received nothing in Union Budget: KTR

Meanwhile, the BRS too said that the Union Budget has done nothing for Telangana.

BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday expressed disappointment, alleging that Telangana received nothing. Despite having a budget of more than Rs 48 lakh crores, only a few states received major benefits, he alleged.

Referring to the BJP and Congress winning eight Lok Sabha seats each in Telangana (out of 17), Rama Rao said the people of the State should think about what happened when they gave 16 seats to the two national parties. BRS drew a blank in the LS polls. “It is disappointing that Telangana is not mentioned in the entire Budget. Once again, Telangana received nothing,” he said in a statement.

Stating that BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao had requested the Centre to make decisions about the 35 ‘promises’ made to Telangana in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 when he was chief minister, Rama Rao said national status has not been granted to any irrigation projects in the State despite requests.

The BRS had made several requests, including Central institutes such as IIM to Telangana, funds for industrial corridors from Telangana to Mumbai-Nagpur and others and establishment of a new handloom cluster along with a mega power loom cluster, but the Centre did not respond, he charged.

Stating that Telangana people should take note of the funds allocated to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar which have more seats in the Parliament, he claimed that the people need to understand that ‘own political identity and strength’ is crucial for Telangana’s development.

“We are happy with the significant funds given to Andhra Pradesh. But it is truly disappointing to see that only Andhra Pradesh and Bihar received funds while the remaining 26 states were overlooked,” he said.