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Congress 6 guarantees missing from Telangana Budget
Congress Budget Omits Promised Guarantees: Harish Rao
Hyderabad: Criticizing the Congress government for failing to fulfill its ‘six guarantees’ of social welfare schemes, Siddipet MLA and former finance minister T Harish Rao pointed out that the Telangana Budget presented on Thursday lacked clear direction and was pushing the state backwards. Rao highlighted the absence of allocations for filling two lakh government job vacancies and other key promises made before the last Assembly elections.
Addressing the media, Harish Rao questioned the absence of funds for implementing Congress’ six guarantees within 100 days. He criticized the budget for self-praise and misplaced blame, failing to meet people’s expectations by not allocating funds for promised schemes.
Rao also noted that there were no mentions of allocations for key promises such as the Rs 2,500 income for women under the Mahalakshmi scheme, increased pensions to Rs 4,000, new ration cards, a Rs 4,000 honorarium for the unemployed, and Rs 12,000 for auto workers.
He further criticized the government for planning to raise Rs 57,000 crore in debt, which is Rs 17,000 crore more than the previous administration. He questioned the proposed revenue from excise, which has been increased significantly, wondering if the government plans to open a wine shop on every street.
Pointing out the unchanged allocation for pensions compared to last year, Rao stated that it was now clear there would be no pension increase. He also questioned the insufficient allocation for waiving farm loans, with only Rs 15,470 crore allocated against the promised Rs 31,000 crore.
Rao criticized the reduced funds for irrigation, from Rs 26,825 crore last year to Rs 22,300 crore in the current budget. He noted the absence of increased allocations for Dalit Bandhu and Girijan Bandhu schemes and highlighted the increased revenue from stamp duty as implying higher land values and registration fees without clear explanation.
Concluding his critique, Rao questioned the discrepancies in interest payments on debts, with the government claiming Rs 7,000 crore per month but showing next year’s interest payable as Rs 17,729 crore. He ended by stating that the budget had shattered people’s hopes.
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