Watch: AP Government Misleading House on State Finances, says Buggana

Hyderabad, Nov 17: AP Former Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy has termed the government's version of state finances as irresponsible public rhetoric and urged the leaders not to degrade the decorum of the House with such blatant and incoherent speeches.

Speaking to the media here on Sunday, the former Finance Minister said that the figures presented by the government did not add up, with the total loan amount varying from person to person, even while speaking in the Assembly.

While the loan component during their term was shown in the budget as Rs 6.5 lakh crore, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu told the House that it was over Rs 9.76 lakh crore, and Yanamala Ramakrishnudu presented an even higher figure in the Legislative Council.

"This is irresponsible political rhetoric, as there is no concord among the three experienced leaders in state finance," he said. "They have been claiming that there is a scam behind every scheme, though Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had ensured that money was directly transferred to the beneficiaries through DBT in all the schemes."

On the other hand, the state government has failed to fulfill the 'Super Six' promises and has only allocated a meager amount to the Deepam scheme, which may only cover one free LPG cylinder, as opposed to the promised three. Be it Adabidda Nidhi, Talliki Andanam, Anna Daatha, Pension, Yuva Galam, or free bus services for women, all of these have been non-starters, he added.

"This government, which speaks with many voices, is trying to create the impression that the previous government put the state under huge debt, while the facts and figures speak otherwise," he said, providing a detailed clarification on the state finances.

"The Chief Minister has added corporate loans, public accounts, and other figures to show the total debt at Rs 9.76 lakh crore, which does not match the actual numbers. Yanamala Ramakrishnudu has made double entries for corporate loans like those for Civil Supplies, the Power Sector, RTC, and others — once when they were actually due and again when loans were taken from banks for the same accounts. This is nothing but juggling of figures," he said, adding that the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government has performed much better than the previous Chandrababu Naidu government in several aspects and improved the state's share in GDP.

"The rate of interest on borrowings was much higher during the previous TDP term than under the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government," he continued. "The losses for DISCOMs have been reduced between 2019 and 2024, which demonstrates our financial discipline. We have also been able to secure more funds from the Centre to compensate for the revenue deficit."

"The revenue receipts fell to 6% between 2014-2019 from 14.4% between 2009-2014, and we recorded 16.7% during 2019-2024," he added.

"It is not a good practice to engage in political rhetoric in the Assembly, as these statements will go on record. There should be an agreement among leaders when stating figures, and any discrepancies, as happened with the Chief Minister, Finance Minister, and others — each providing their own version of the facts — should be avoided," he concluded.