Buggana blames TDP govt for State’s fin mess

PNS|Vijayawada

Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy has alleged that due to the mistakes committed by the previous TDP government, the State is reeling in a deep financial crisis. The Minister slammed TDP leader Yanamala Ramakrishnudu for false propaganda on the State’s financial position. He said that the opposition party leaders are coming up with false propaganda on AP debt and financial management every day.

The Minister said that the present financial situation of AP was only because of the previous government’s mistakes, the debts, and the arrears left behind by the previous TDP government. The YSRC government was paying interest and repaying the principal amounts left by the TDP government.

The Minister finds fault with Yanamala Ramakrishnudu who has 25 years of experience and still was lying, Chandrababu Naidu who has 40 years of experience trying to mislead the people of AP with false predictions.

He said that the combined debts of Andhra Pradesh since independence till 2014 (1956-2014) are Rs 1,20,556 crores. After that, the Telugu Desam came to power in 2014 after the bifurcation in TDP five-year period it was Rs 2,69,462 crores. This means in five years the debt increased by 124 percent, which is higher than the debt of various governments in 58 years.

Despite debts left by the previous TDP government, the YSRC government was paying the accumulated arrears responsibly in spite of the Covid crisis. The debt incurred by the YSRC government as of March 2022 is Rs 3,82,165 crores. Compared to 2019, the debt increase was only 42 percent, said the Finance minister.

Buggana finds fault with Yanamala saying that in a press note on October 06, 2022, the TDP leader said that the debts of the State were Rs 8 lakh crore debts and on December 25, 2022 he says that the debts of the State are Rs 6,38,000 crore.

The Minister asked, how Rs 2 lakh crore debt can be reduced in two months. He alleged that the TDP leaders are misleading the people of the State with false propaganda against the government and its financial position.

The Minister said that in 2014, the public accounts of the state of Andhra Pradesh were Rs 19,000 crores. It was Rs 64,013 crore during 2018-19 by the time the TDP tenure was over which means the TDP has made only Rs 45,013 crore. In the latest the financial year 2022-23 it is Rs 68,463 crores which means the YSRC government has done only Rs 4,000 crores, he added.

He said since the YSRC came to power, BC, SC, ST, and Minorities have been given about Rs 1,35,000 crores directly deposited into their account which is a record across the country. A total of Rs 1,85,000 crores through DBT in a transparent way, out of which around Rs.1,35,000 crores (73%) beneficiaries are from weaker sections, which is proof of our sincerity.

Apart from this, in the non-DBT method, a total of Rs 1,45,000 crores was provided of which about Rs 1,22,000 crores (84%) benefited through various schemes. “We are proud to say that we have spent a total of Rs 2,57,000 crore (78%) for the welfare development of BC, SC, ST and Minorities. As long as the YSRC government is in power, the financial management of the State will not suffer any deficit,” said Rajendranath Reddy.