Telangana Finance Minister Harish Rao targets BJP in his response to discussion on the budget

'Can Bandi Sanjay or any other BJP leader prove that there were states who were paying more than ₹10,000 per acre to rain-affected farmers?' asked Harish. (Harish Rao/Twitter)

Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Wednesday, 8 February, argued that though the budget he had presented in the state Assembly for 2023-24 was meant for the welfare of all sections of society, the BJP was trying to pick holes in it.

Replying to the general discussion on the state budget that was presented on Monday in the Assembly, he said, “The budget shows the way to achieve integrated, comprehensive, and inclusive development in the state.”

తెలంగాణలో సమీకృత, సమ్మిళిత, సమగ్ర, సుస్థిర అభివృద్ది: అసెంబ్లీలో ఆర్థికశాఖ మంత్రి శ్రీ హరీశ్ రావు.@BRSHarish#TelanganaBudget2023 pic.twitter.com/jjFFQOTHb6

— BRS Party (@BRSparty) February 8, 2023

Lashing out at the BJP, he said that the “Amrit Kaal” the saffron party is trumpeting about from the rooftops is, in fact, a time of trials and tribulations for the people.

“Amrit Kaal has come for the rulers and not for the people,” he stated.

Also Read: Opposition parties call Telangana budget ‘directionless’, ‘illusionary’

‘Government working efficiently’

The minister also took a dig at BJP member Eatala Rajender, saying: “He is looking at the dark spot on the moon instead of basking in its light.”

Rao stated that the government has been working very efficiently and that was the reason the Opposition parties were frustrated over the ominous prospect of not being able to come to power ever in Telangana.

He said the way the Opposition parties had found fault with the budget appeared as though they did not want any allocations made for the weaker sections in society.

Live: Speaking at Telangana Legislative Assembly https://t.co/wATmgx2xw7

— Harish Rao Thanneeru (@BRSHarish) February 8, 2023

He recalled the Opposition parties organising protests in the past on the premises of the Assembly with women legislators holding empty pots, in an attempt to draw the attention of the government to the lack of drinking water supply in villages.

The minister referred to similar protests against erratic power supply and power cuts. The people in Nalgonda district suffered for a very long time with fluorosis, he said, and maintained that the situation has dramatically changed now.

“You do not have to tell us how to run the government,” he quipped at the Opposition parties.

Also Read: Yes, it’s family rule; people of Telangana our family: KTR 

Telangana’s successful projects, initiatives

Rao said that the state government had presented before the nation a great project — Mission Bhagiratha — to provide drinking water to the people.

“Why is it that the other states are not able to do it? Is it because they do not have funds or water? The secret is that they do not have any concern for the people.” he said.

He added, “It is a matter of pride that BJP had taken inspiration from the Telangana government’s scheme and had come out with the Har Ghar Jal Yojana, but even this scheme has become a non-starter.”

The minister, who was instrumental in the grounding and completion of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) when he was the irrigation minister, mentioned of how it was transforming the rural arid outback of Telangana into a verdant landscape.

The lifting of Godavari waters to a height of 600 ft to irrigate parched lands under KLIS is a marvel, he said. “We have completed the project in a matter of three-and-a-half years,” he added.

Expressing satisfaction over the government redeeming the promises made to the people that it would provide water and funds, Rao said that the farmers were happy as they were getting not only water but also crop investment subsidy in the form of Rythu Bandhu.

దేశంలో ఒక కొత్త నినాదం పుట్టింది ✊

"అబ్‌ కీ బార్‌.. కిసాన్‌ సర్కార్‌"

దేశం మొత్తం తెలంగాణ తరహా మాకు రైతు రాజ్యం రావాలి.. రైతు నాయకుడు రావాలి అని చూస్తున్నారు

– మంత్రి @BRSHarish🔥 #AbKibaarKisanSarkaar #Telangana #KCR pic.twitter.com/5GvFabQCIB

— BRS News (@BRSParty_News) February 8, 2023

He slammed the BJP for accusing KCR of performing tantrik pujas and asserted that the chief minister had never exploited religious sentiments for political gain like the BJP.

“KCR believes in God but never uses his name for political benefit. All the irrigation projects and the newly-formed districts have been named after Gods,” he said and pointed out that it was the BJP that had started courses in tantrik pujas in universities.

Parties vs BJP

Earlier in the day, BJP member Eatala Rajender took exception to not providing an office room to the BJP in the Assembly.

“Even if we BJP MLAs want to discuss an issue or even have lunch or breakfast, we do not have any place. I have brought this up before you (Speaker) several times,” he said, to which Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivasa Yadav said that the rules do not allow allotment of an office for a party that has less than five members (the BJP has only three).

As soon as the House met in the morning, AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi went for the BJP’s jugular for meting out step-motherly treatment to Telangana state, while initiating the discussion on the budget.

He accused the BJP of crippling the state by restricting the borrowing limit on the Telangana government, while itself being guilty of violating the norms of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003.

He also took a swipe at the state for showing a revenue surplus budget, as a result of which funds from the Centre were not being realised.

Also Read: Dissolve Parliament, announce midterm election, KTR dares BJP

The state should show how much is the deficit and make efforts to get funds to fill the revenue deficit, he stated.

He argued that the state was not getting the funds that were due as per the AP State Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Even the grants and central devolutions were being released in fits and starts, he stated. “The state is not getting even 20 percent of the estimated grant-in-aid from the Centre,” he said.

CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka said that the BJP was balkanising the country with its communal agenda.

On the economic front, due to the BJP’s skewed policies, the rich were becoming richer and the poor, poorer, he stated. He expressed shock over how the BJP government allowed Adani to loot the nation.