Union Minister Kishan Reddy Dares Telangana CM KCR For Debate On Indian Economy

Kishan Reddy claimed that KCR misused his authority and the Assembly's budget session to target the Centre and the prime minister.

Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Monday that he is ready for a debate on the country's economy with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. In response to CM KCR's speech in the state assembly on Sunday, the central minister claimed that through his baseless remarks, he insulted the country and its hardworking people.

Speaking to reporters, Kishan Reddy claimed that KCR misused his authority and the Assembly's budget session to target the Centre and the prime minister. He claimed KCR overstepped its limits by comparing India to other countries, but he said nothing about the state budget. 

KCR, as the CM is popularly known, said on Sunday in the state assembly that the country performed well during former PM Manmohan Singh's rule. He said Manmohan Singh excelled in his performance but lacked the ecosystem to flaunt his achievements like his successor, Modi.

KCR called for a debate on the BJP government's target of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy and remarked that it had now become a joke. He said that after all the hype, India managed to become just a USD 3.1 trillion economy. At least, the aim should have been higher, and one should have a vision and dare to dream, he said.

On Monday, Kishan Reddy asked if KCR did not know that during Manmohan Singh's tenure, India was the 11th largest economy in the world, but under Narendra Modi, it became the fifth largest economy. He also pointed out that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that India will overtake Germany to become the fourth-largest economy by 2027.

The BJP leader also disputed KCR's claim on India's high rate of borrowing and claimed that this is lower than the borrowings of countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. He said that the US debt-to-GDP ratio is 120 percent, while in the UK it is 273 percent. India's debt to GDP is only 19.9 per cent, he said.

The central minister questioned KCR's silence on the state's financial position and claimed that Telangana's debts, which were Rs 60,000 crore in 2014, have now mounted to Rs 5 lakh crore due to indiscriminate borrowings by the KCR government.

He also alleged that thousands of crores of rupees were swindled in Telangana in the name of projects by raising debts.

(With IANS inputs)