The Union tourism minister also found fault with the Telangana government for failing to implement welfare schemes meant for the poor.
Published Jan 05, 2023 | 8:09 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 05, 2023 | 8:11 PM
Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy. (Supplied)
Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday, 5 January, criticised the Telangana government for allegedly diverting the Central government funds meant for gram panchayats.
Telangana was not in a position to pay the salaries of state government employees because of the stubborn attitude of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, he told reporters in New Delhi.
Reddy found fault with the state government for failing to implement welfare schemes meant for the poor.
Telangana was in such a position that it was gearing up to sell prime government land due to a paucity of funds to repair roads, he said.
“The state has gone bankrupt due to the confused economic policies,” Reddy alleged.
He added that the BRS leaders in the state were exploiting the resources arbitrarily.
He said the chief minister was ruling the state like a dictator.
Referring to fuel prices, Reddy said the petrol and diesel prices were high in Telangana compared to other states in the country.
He said the state government was charging an additional ₹13 per litre of petrol, while BRS leaders were saying that it was inappropriate to politicise petrol prices.
He alleged that the VAT on diesel was 22 percent but it was increased to 27 percent in Telangana.
He said the oil companies have not increased prices despite losses, and stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took strong measures to avoid burdening the common man despite the increase in petroleum products during the war between Russia and Ukraine.
