Harish Rao called the Congress budget a bundle of lies

Former Finance Minister and senior BRS leader T. Harish Rao termed the Congress budget a bundle of lies and alleged that the budget was "full of lies, deception, and unrealistic claims." He claimed that Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka's budget speech was a "cut and paste" affair, with paragraphs repeated from last year's speech.

Harish Rao criticized the Congress budget, calling it a "big fake budget." Speaking to reporters after Bhatti presented the budget in the Assembly on Tuesday, Harish Rao pointed out several discrepancies. For example, Telangana received Rs 15,729 crore under centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), compared to just Rs 5,966 crore last year. Additionally, Rs 3,000 crore was claimed for MNREGA, whereas the actual allocation last year was just Rs 2,600 crore. "How can this be possible?" he asked. "This year the Centre’s outlay for MNREGA is Rs 86,000 crore, the same as last year. The CSS outlay for the entire country is Rs 26,000 crore." For more updates on Telangana politics, visit Hyderabad Vaartha.

Harish Rao also criticized the government’s handling of interest-free loans for women self-help groups, noting that they have been limited to Rs 5 lakh, meaning additional borrowing will attract an interest rate of 12.5%. "The government initially promised Rs 1 lakh crore in interest-free loans but reduced it to Rs 20,000 crore. If the government is really committed to interest-free loans, the entire loan amount should be interest-free," Harish Rao said. He also claimed that Bhatti had said the previous BRS government did not issue new ration cards, but in reality, 6.47 lakh new ration cards were issued. "Today’s budget speech is an example of lies and deception. This budget is nothing but a financial illusion filled with manipulated figures and false promises," Harish Rao concluded. For more on Telangana’s financial matters, visit Vaartha ePaper.