Harish Rao, Bhatti spar over Telangana's financial debt burden in Assembly

Hyderabad: Heated arguments were witnessed between members of the ruling Congress and the Opposition BRS during Question Hour in the State Assembly on the debts incurred during the one-year rule of the Congress government in Telangana.

Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka stated that only Rs 52,000 was borrowed during their year of rule in the State.

Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management

Reacting to Bhatti’s statement, BRS Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao said, “The State government's borrowing under Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) is Rs 51,277 crore. I also took the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report this morning and if we include the latest borrowing today, it has increased by Rs 3,000 crore, which means Rs 55,277 crore has been borrowed under FRBM. Under Corporation Guarantees Rs 61,991 crore and another Rs 10,099 crore was taken without guarantees.”

‘Rs 1,27,208 crore in one year’

Elaborating further, Harish Rao said that the Congress government had incurred a debt of Rs 1,27,208 crore in its one-year ruling in the State. “If this continues, the debt to be incurred in five years will be Rs 6,36,040 crore. The total debt incurred during the 10 years of the BRS regime was Rs 4,17,496 crore only,” Harish Rao said.

In return, Bhatti Vikramarka said, "Harish Rao has no habit of telling the truth. Whatever he speaks is a lie to deceive the public about his politics. Every six months, the BRS party will lose its ideology. Despite facing a huge defeat in the Parliament elections, the Opposition is yet to change its behaviour and ideology.”

‘No truth in Opposition’s campaign’

The finance minister said there was no truth in the opposition's campaign that the Congress government had borrowed Rs 1 lakh crore after coming to power. “We have borrowed only Rs 52,000 crore. Around Rs 66,000 crore including principal and interest have been paid in these 11 months. The BRS leaders left Rs 40,000 crore bills pending during the regime, and we have already cleared Rs 14,000 crore dues,” he said. “In fact, our efforts are to reduce borrowings. The destruction of 10 years cannot be set right in one year. So, we had to take loans to some extent,” he added.

Bhatti also said free electricity for farmers is a Congress party’s patent.

“Since 2004, our government has been paying dues to the DISCOMS from time to time. But, the BRS government has left Rs 18,000 crore dues to the DISCOMS and we have already paid Rs 11,000 crore dues. Similarly in the industries department, the BRS has left arrears of Rs 3,000 crore,” the finance minister said.

‘Rs 18,000 crore bills pending’

The BRS leaders kept Rs 18,000 crore bills pending in the Civil Supplies department and they did not even take bank guarantees from the millers. After Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy took charge of the department, he was striving hard to collect the dues, Bhatti said.

“We are making payments to the farmers within three days after purchasing paddy from the farmers. Did you ever do that in your life? We are giving Rs 500 bonus per quintal of fine rice and a farmer Chittibabu from our village sent an SMS that he got an additional Rs 15,000 per acre thanks to the bonus given,” the finance minister said.

The BRS leaders even leased the Congress government to build Outer Ring Road for the next 30 years. “Like BRS leaders, if we too collect commercial tax and other taxes for the next 30 years from Adani and Ambani, how will the future governments survive?” Bhatti questioned.

‘No new project has been executed’

Harish Rao has denied the comments made by Bhatti Vikramarka that the BRS government had not paid a single rupee for free electricity. During the previous BRS regime, around Rs 65,000 crore had been paid to the electricity department for electricity supply. But Bhatti Vikramarka is misleading the Assembly and the people with numbers, he said. “This Congress government, during its year rule, has taken Rs 1,27,208 crore loan and not even executed a single new project,” he said.

“We built many irrigation projects during our reign and provided drinking water through Mission Bhagiratha. Apart from that, the previous BRS government created assets, but the Congress government took loans and shared them for commissions. The public needs to be intimated about the facts. The finance minister is disclosing something without answering the original question,” Harish Rao said.

Later, amid slogan-shouting by opposition BRS members against the Congress government, three bills, including Young India Physical Education and Sports University of Telangana, were passed without much debate.

The House was later adjourned for the day after Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao spoke on tourism policy during a Short Discussion even as BRS members continued to raise slogans.

BRS MLAs attend Assembly wearing black attire and demand discussion on Lagacherla

The BRS has presented an adjournment resolution in the Assembly to examine the forced acquisition of agricultural lands from farmers for the establishment of industries in the State, which is an attempt to draw attention to the predicament of Lagacherla farmers.

The party also sought to discuss the arrest of farmers and the urgent need for their release. BRS MLAs T Harish Rao, G Jagadish Reddy, Vemula Prashanth Reddy, Gangula Kamalakar and others served the notice to the Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar in this regard.

The BRS MLAs also wore black shirts and handcuffs and attended the ongoing winter session of the Assembly as a mark of protest, demanding justice for the arrested Lagacherla farmers.