KCR said the debt-to-GDP ratio was up 56.2 percent, capital expenditure down to 31 percent, and fiscal deficit up to 5.1 percent since 2014.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao held a meeting at Pragathi Bhavan. (Supplied)
In a vituperative attack on the BJP-led Central government, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Sunday, 12 February, said that he was ready to resign if anyone could prove his assertion, that the country was sliding relentlessly on several economic parameters, wrong.
In his reply to the discussion on the Appropriation Bill in the Assembly, he said that since 2014 — when the BJP came to power at the Centre and Narendra Modi became prime minister — the debt-to-GDP ratio rose to 56.2 percent, capital expenditure slumped to 31 percent, and the fiscal deficit shot up to 5.1 percent compared to his predecessor Manhoman Singh’s tenure, when they were 52.2 percent, 37 percent, and 4.7 percent, respectively.
Hauling Modi over coals, the chief minister said that there was a deceleration of growth in all sectors of the economy, but the saffron party was making it out to be in the pink of health.
“The statistics I am placing before you are not mine. I have culled them out from the reports of the CAG,” he said, recalling how the international community was warning India of an impending economic disaster if the slide continued.
He said the per capita income, which was an accurate indicator of the health of the economy, was abysmally low in India.
“When Manmohan Singh was the prime minister, its growth was 12.73 percent, but during the last eight and a half years, it slid to 7.1 percent. In per capita income rankings, India happens to occupy the 139th position among 192 countries, even lower than Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka,” said Rao.
He added that it was unfortunate that the Congress was not aware of the figures and that he had to speak for its former prime minister.
Describing Modi’s speech in Parliament as “disgusting”, he said the NDA government never gave out any data whenever MPs asked for it, so much so that “NDA” had come to stand for “No Data Available.”
He said that had the Centre worked as well as Telangana did, the country would have achieved better growth and accordingly, Telangana’s growth would have gone up, translating to about ₹3 lakh crore.
Telangana, which has only 3 percent of the total Indian population, was contributing 4.5 percent to the national GDP, he said.
The chief minister, lacing his words in sarcasm, wondered why should a prime minister inaugurate 14 Vande Bharat trains and his finance minister pick up a quarrel with a poor ration shop owner in Banswada in the erstwhile Nizamabad district over not displaying Modi’s portrait in the shop.
“Why should anyone in Telangana vote for the BJP when it did not allot even one medical college to the state?” he asked.
He referred to the Vande Bharat Train rakes as delicate, and noted that they turned into a twisted tangle of metal even when they hit a buffalo.
“There was nothing great about these trains as better trains like Rajdhani Express were already running,” he said
బర్రె గుద్దితే పచ్చడయ్యే వందే భారత్ రైలును మోడీ 14 సార్లు ప్రారంభించాడు.
– అసెంబ్లీలో సీఎం శ్రీ కేసీఆర్. pic.twitter.com/DQn9vIghow
— BRS Party (@BRSparty) February 12, 2023
The chief minister expressed surprise over the prime minister remaining silent even in the face of a heated debate on Adani.
He said that it was unfortunate that Modi did not give any explanation on the report of short-seller Hindenburg, which accused Adani of resorting to manipulation of the value of his group of companies.
He demanded that the Prime Minister should have given an explanation on the Hindenburg report.
The prime minister found it relevant to talk about the Nehru and Indira Gandhi regimes but did not find time to speak on the most relevant issue of the Hindenburg report, he said.
Accusing the prime minister of surrounding himself with sycophants, yesmen, and voice brigades who always create a ruckus in Parliament whenever anyone questions the BJP government, he said it was not a healthy trend in a democracy.
He referred to how the BJP members created a din when TMC member Mahua Moitra was calling the Modi government to account for encouraging Adani to become an extra-constitutional force.
అదానీ వ్యవహారంపై ప్రధాని నరేంద్ర మోదీ ఒక్క మాట కూడా ఎందుకు మాట్లాడటం లేదు – అసెంబ్లీలో సీఎం శ్రీ కేసీఆర్. pic.twitter.com/Sz8FkR54um
— BRS Party (@BRSparty) February 12, 2023
Referring to the reluctance of the government in taking up a fresh census of the population, he wondered how any government could plan for the future without knowing the number of its subjects.
He suspected that there was an ulterior motive for the government not coming forward with commissioning a new census, which had gone on without any disruption for the last 140 years despite two world wars breaking out.
He also wanted to know why the government was not in favour of a census for the BCs, SCs and STs.
The chief minister reiterated that the BRS was born from the need for giving a new direction and goal for the nation.
“I am sure the BRS would come to power at the centre and then we would unveil a new water policy to help all states have access to water which is bountiful. It is unfortunate that India could not make use of about 40,000 Tmcft of water that is going waste into the seas every year and if we harness the water, there would no longer be any water wars,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
May 04, 2024
May 04, 2024
May 04, 2024
May 04, 2024
May 04, 2024
May 04, 2024
