Telangana Congress Leader Criticizes Union Budget for Ignoring State
The working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), T. Jagga Reddy, has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Union Budget. He stated that the budget has done a great injustice to Telangana by failing to allocate sufficient funds for the state. Despite Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman being of Telugu origin, Jagga Reddy accused her of neglecting Telangana in the budget and called it a reflection of political weakness.
Jagga Reddy highlighted that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka had previously approached the central government to request financial aid. However, he said the budget was disappointing and ignored the financial challenges Telangana has been facing due to past mismanagement under K. Chandrashekar Rao’s administration. He expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of special financial allocations despite repeated appeals from the state.
He also criticized Union Ministers Bandi Sanjay and G. Kishan Reddy, accusing them of failing to fight for Telangana’s interests. According to Jagga Reddy, these leaders only follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directions instead of advocating for the state. “They must answer to the people of Telangana for their failure to secure funds,” he said.
Jagga Reddy argued that while routine funds may have been allocated, Telangana did not receive any special financial support in the Rs 50 lakh crore Union Budget. He pointed out that despite contributing Rs 1 lakh crore annually in taxes and having eight BJP MPs, including two Union Ministers, the state was overlooked. He called this treatment of Telangana both disappointing and condemnable.
Furthermore, he urged BJP representatives from Telangana to take the issue seriously and push for the state’s rightful share of funds. He also criticized the Centre for not approving the ITIR (Information Technology Investment Region) project, which he claimed could have significantly boosted Telangana’s economy.
Jagga Reddy compared the current scenario to the past, stating that during the era of united Andhra Pradesh, former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy had successfully secured substantial funds from the Centre. These funds contributed to major infrastructure developments like IIITs, Metro Rail, Airports, and the Outer Ring Road. He added that under the UPA government led by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Telangana received significant financial assistance, which helped develop Hyderabad and increase the state’s budget to Rs 3 lakh crore.
Concluding his remarks, Jagga Reddy alleged that the current budget appears to prioritize electoral gains in states like Bihar while neglecting the needs of Telangana. He called on the BJP leaders to demonstrate genuine concern for the state by addressing this issue with the Prime Minister and the finance minister.
