BRS criticizes Congress for cuts in budget discussions

Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) has demanded the Congress government to discuss nine issues during the ongoing budget session, including law and order failure, weavers’ suicides, legal validity of guarantees given to people, terms of crop loan waiver, bonus for all crops and Raitu Bharosa. “We have also demanded discussion on issues of unemployed youth, sanitation in urban and rural areas, funds for local bodies, fee reimbursement, pending bills of works sanctioned by the previous government,” Harish Rao said. He said not a single demand was accepted.

Addressing reporters at Media Point here on Tuesday, Harish questioned how the members would prepare for the session as the agenda for Wednesday was not yet finalised. Criticising the State government for cutting short the budget session, Harish Rao said the Congress government was not only avoiding promises made to the people but also avoiding facing questions in the Assembly. He said the BRS had demanded the continuation of budget meetings for 15 days, but the Congress government reduced it to four days. During the rule of the BRS government, the demands were debated for nine days. In contrast, the Congress government had limited it to two days. This was highly objectionable, he said. While in the opposition, the Congress had demanded that the number of assembly days be increased, but the party’s attitude has changed after coming to power, he said.

Condemning the Central government’s attitude towards the state, the former minister said forget allocations, not a single word was said about Telangana. “Both the Congress and the BJP are cheating Telangana,” he said. While grants were allocated for the development of backward districts in Andhra Pradesh, the former minister asked if there were no backward districts in Telangana. The people of Telangana had elected eight MPs from the BJP and the Congress, but the state still got shortfalls in budget allocations. There was no mention of granting national status to the Palamuru Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme, Kazipet coach factory or Bayyaram steel plant, he said, wondering what both Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay had asked for the state. Harish Rao said, “The BJP is betraying Telangana and the zero allocation in the Budget for the state reflects the party’s attitude towards the people.”