Resign if you cannot run government, KTR tells Revanth Reddy

Terms Congress regime intellectually bankrupt, morally decayed; warns ruling party leaders against tarnishing Telangana’s reputation to cover up their failures

Hyderabad: In a strong rebuttal to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s remarks on Telangana being financially bankrupt and unable to raise loans, BRS working president KT Rama Rao demanded for his resignation if he was unable to run the State. He charged the Congress government with deliberately portraying Telangana as bankrupt to avoid fulfilling its electoral promises.

Speaking to media at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Rama Rao said Revanth Reddy had exposed himself as the most incompetent and inefficient Chief Minister in India. He reminded that no Chief Minister in the country’s history had made such defeatist statements about their own State’s financial position. He termed the Congress regime intellectually bankrupt and morally decayed.

Rebutting the Chief Minister’s recent comments on Telangana’s fiscal health, the BRS working president warned Congress leaders against tarnishing the State’s reputation to cover up their failures. “These remarks are not just irresponsible, but also unforgivable,” he said, asserting that the State remained financially sound.

Rama Rao also criticised the Chief Minister for attempting to portray government employees as villains and ignoring their just demands. “These are the same employees who stood on the frontlines during the Telangana movement. Instead of honouring promises, Revanth Reddy is vilifying them,” he said.

Clarifying that as responsible opposition, BRS does not support strikes, he said the Congress was morally bound to fulfil its poll promises. “But if the government fails to respond, the BRS will take a call after internal discussions,” he said.

The former Minister reminded that the Congress had promised to merge TGRTC with the government, release pending DAs, abolish the CPS, implement a new PRC, clear supplementary bills, and ensure timely salaries, among others. He questioned the irony that the government was ready to splurge Rs 250 crore on a beauty pageant, but had no funds for pensions and retirement benefits for its employees.

He also demanded a white paper on the latter’s 43 Delhi visits in chartered flights and also funds spent for Ministers who were using helicopters like share autos to travel even short distances.

Rama Rao ridiculed Revanth Reddy’s repeated claims of financial crisis. Citing official data, he stated that Telangana’s revenue rose from Rs.51,000 crore in 2014 to Rs.2.16 lakh crore in 2023-24, under BRS rule. The State had a revenue surplus of Rs.4,882 crore in 2023-24. “The RBI confirmed our monthly debt servicing is Rs.2,000 crore, not Rs.10,000 crore as falsely claimed by the Congress. Even Parliament records show Telangana ranks 24th among 28 States in debt-to-GSDP ratio,” he declared.

He blamed Congress for spreading falsehoods about loans under BRS regime. “In December 2023, they released a white paper claiming the BRS government raised loans worth Rs 6 lakh crore in 10 years, while the Chief Minister recently claimed them as Rs 8.29 lakh crore. But the actual debt was Rs 4.17 lakh crore,” he asserted.

Rama Rao said the BRS borrowed funds to build infrastructure and irrigation projects, while the Congress took Rs 1.7 lakh crore in 16 months without completing a single project. He added that total debt repayment, including principal and interest, between 2022-23 and 2032-33 stood at Rs.2.67 lakh crore. He questioned the decline in State own tax revenue under the Congress rule, against 10-12 per cent annual growth recorded during the BRS regime.