Buggana raps Naidu over State’s financial challenges

Blaming TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu for the State’s current financial difficulties, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath addressed the media at the Secretariat on Thursday. Minister Buggana asserted that Chandrababu’s political approach and philosophy
were centred around creating sensationalism with mounting debts.
Highlighting the purportedly detrimental impact of Chandrababu’s decisions on the
state’s growth, Minister Buggana alleged that TDP’s friendly media disseminated misleading information through false and unsubstantiated articles about the state’s debts.
Dismissing various claims about the state’s debt, ranging from Rs 7 lakh crore to Rs 13 lakh crore, as baseless allegations, the minister clarified that the actual debt as of March 31, 2023, was Rs 4,28,715 crores. He emphasised the need to subtract the debt incurred during the previous government, amounting to Rs 2,71,797 crore.
Minister Buggana attributed the increase in debts during the COVID-19 pandemic to a shortfall in expected government revenue, supported by evidence and documents provided by the central government. He pointed to a clear response from the Central government addressing queries raised by some members of Parliament.
Asserting that more debts were accrued during Chandrababu’s tenure, the minister said that the Central government had clarified the State’s debt situation, despite ongoing blame directed at the current State government.