Telangana Government Turned Rich State Into Debt State: Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman criticised the state administration for allegedly inflating the price of the Kaleshwaram project to the tune of Rs. 1.20 lakh crore.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaking to the reporters at Kamareddy ( Image Source :ABP Desam )

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday criticised ruling TRS government in Telangana for going over the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM) limit, renaming Central programmes, trapping farmers in debt, and turning the surplus state into a deficit state.

She was speaking to the reporters at Kamareddy, on the first day of her three-day visit to Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency as part of the BJP's 'Parliament Pravas Yojana'. Union Finance Minister said that the Telangana administration surpassed the FRBM limit and the government is not showing the debts in the budget. She claimed that every newborn child in the state has a debt load of Rs 1.25 lakh.

According to the union minister, the TRS government has allegedly changed the names of the central welfare schemes. Although 'Mana Ooru, Mana Badi' scheme is a Central government initiative, she claimed that the TRS government is promoting it as a state initiative.

Minister said that the Telangana state had not joined 'Ayushman Bharat' because the TRS knew that the public would be aware of the truth. She inquired why the state administration was not carrying out the 'PM Fasal Bima Yojana'.

Additionally, she criticised the state administration for allegedly inflating the price of the Kaleshwaram project to the tune of Rs 1.20 lakh crore. "The state was acquiring more debt than was permitted under the budget. The Centre has the right to inquire about the state's indebtedness," she said.

"Telangana ranks fourth among the states regarding the number of farmer suicides and 91 out of every 100 farmers are struggling under debt. Farmers have not benefited from the Rs 1 lakh debt relief scheme," said Nirmala Sitharaman.

(With inputs from ABP Desam — It is a Telugu platform of ABP News. For more news, commentary and latest happenings from two Telugu states, follow https://telugu.abplive.com/)