Telangana Budget: KCR calls it ‘trash’; Should have come to Assembly sooner, replies Bhatti

Hyderabad: Slamming the Telangana State Budget 2024-25 which was tabled in the Legislature on Thursday, BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao said it was presented as a ‘colourful picture’ and failed to address important issues and policies. Meanwhile, deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu and minister Sridhar Babu said that the objections could have been raised in the hall rather than at the media point.

The Telangana government presented a budget of Rs 2.91 lakh crores with a total of Rs 2.21 lakh crores in revenue and Rs 33,487 crores in capital expenditures while the overall debt of the State amounted to Rs 6.71 lakh crores during the past 10 years.

KCR attends for the first time, calls budget trash

KCR, who attended the House for the first time as the leader of Opposition (LoP), said there is no guarantee in the budget for any sections of the public and no new welfare scheme was announced.

“What is your (government) industrial policy, what is your agriculture policy or IT policy? There is nothing. It is all just gas and trash. Except for presenting a colourful picture and storytelling, it does not look like a presentation of a budget,” said KCR.

“The government failed to address core issues and come out with clear-cut policies on sectors such as industries, IT and agriculture,” he added.

‘Anti-poor budget’

Calling it an ‘anti-poor’ budget, KCR said his party will launch a campaign against the State government and the budget in future. As far as agriculture is concerned, the earlier BRS government had a clear understanding that the sector should be stabilised in the State and extended Rythu Bandhu (investment assistance to farmers) twice a year, he said.

However, the present government is saying that they would bypass it, he alleged.

“It is clear that this is an anti-farmer government. They (the government) are not procuring the paddy (from farmers) and not supplying quality power… The government deceived the farmers,” Rao lambasted the ruling Congress.

He said though the BRS wanted to give the Congress at least six months after the formation of the government, the Congress regime failed to come out with any policy formulation forcing the opposition party to attack it.

KCR should have attended the discussion, says Bhatti

Meanwhile, replying to the criticism from the Oppostion, deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka said, “KCR should have come to the Assembly yesterday for the rightful funds from the Centre. He came hurriedly to the Assembly and left. He should have stayed till the budget speech was over.”

Bhatti alleged, “KCR allotted Rs 17,700 crores in the previous budget but did not release a single rupee.”

The deputy CM said that the focus of the Congress government is on jobs and developing an ecosystem around Hyderabad. The budget allotments have been made for Rs 10,000 crores to Hyderabad keeping this vision in mind, he said.