Budget is a bundle of lies and betrayals: TDP

Amaravati: TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu lambasted the State Government for not showing any commitment or assurance in its budget for 2020-21 to make genuine efforts to uplift the poor people and usher in balanced growth in the state, in a press conference on Tuesday.

He blamed that because of the bankrupt policies of the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the agricultural growth rate declined to just 8 per cent as against 11 per cent during TDP time.

The TDP supremo compared the present government's financial performance with his government and criticised that there was no development or progress from last year.

He said that the previous TDP Government spent Rs. 19,976 cr for capital expenditure in 2018-19 while the YSRCP regime could spend only Rs. 12,865 cr. This was not even half of its commitment and that too it was a revised estimate, not actual. In respect of loans, AP got Rs. 2.57 lakh cr debts since the formation of the state till 2018-19. This was raised to Rs. 3.02 lakh cr in the last one year and estimated to be Rs. 3.5 lakh cr next year. The YSRCP raised the state debt by Rs. 1 lakh cr. There are doubts more loans may be taken by the Government without any responsibility towards the management of finances or economy.

Naidu said the Government failed to spend the allocations it made for the crucial agriculture and irrigation sectors in 2019-20. While the previous TDP government spent Rs. 14,000 Cr for irrigation in 2018-19, the YSRCP spent only Rs. 4,900 Cr only during 2019-20. But it was making tall claims of aiming to complete all projects in the next four years. In agriculture also, the TDP spent Rs. 8,168 cr in 2018-19 as against just Rs. 5,.986 cr by YSRCP in 2019-20. Still, the Finance Minister makes wrong claims that they have spent on market intervention, natural calamities, Rythu Bharosa and so on.

Jagan government has been creating crisis after crisis in order to divert the attention of the people from the failures of the State government, the TDP chief criticised.

State government destroyed the Amaravati, which was an innovative project to create wealth to the State. How could the State government generate revenue after destroying the revenue-generating projects? Naidu questioned Jagan.

600 farmers committed suicides in the State in the last one year. Liquor, sand, mining, registration, fuel and others became premium products in the one year.

This government has been working against the BCs. The TDP government gave 34 per cent reservations to the BCs. YSRCP government did not even give 24 per cent reservations, Naidu added. The state government did not even spend the allocated budget to the BCs, despite putting in the BC sub Plan.

He observed that the government has to answer for all these and the Assembly was supposed to be conducted for at least a couple of weeks through video conference.